Childhood's Beginnings: Kindheit Anfänge
by Primordial Inscriptor Z-09
Summary: As an infant, you are powerless, helpless to do anything but scream and flail around for help and attention. But what if you could not even do that? The Great One's were not always the supernatural creatures that could wipe out villages in an instant. The Hunters were not always so deadly in their skills. There is always a beginning to everything, not even the strongest are exempt.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

'Crack'

The sharp sound akin to a pair of porcelain materials grinding together came from his left. He peered up from the report about several miraculous improvements in CRDL's grades, to see his favorite coffee mug on the left with an impossibly precise, but clear weakness in its otherwise well carved interior imagery.

He sighed, he had been rather fond of the miniature depictions of Huntsmen and Grimm doing battle within his mug.

The dark Ambrosia leaked from the perfect flaw of the mug and threatened to seep into the white reports on his desk with its tantalizing shades. However, the Headmaster was faster with his superior skill. It was but a flick of a wrist to pick up all the sheets of paper into an orderly pile that was perfectly boxed and balancing it on the cane he had leaning on the right side of his desk. His other hand reached to his scroll to call his assistant.

"Glynda, there seems to be a mess in my office. Do bring some 'cleaning supplies' would you?"  
Now usually, he would never ask her to do such a thing. That was what the cleaning staff was for after all. No, that was a code word, one of many he had prepared to say under very specific situations.

This one set the security level on campus an additional level up.

Immediately, the gears rotation over his head halted their rhythmic movement several times, before continuing on as if it never happened.

The headmaster waited several seconds, before the elevator doors to his office opened up, revealing none other than his personal assistant, Glynda Goodwitch.

Glynda appeared to be a middle-aged woman with very light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. Her eyes were bright green and she wore a pair of thin ovular glasses. She had teal hanging earrings with a small bead identical to her earrings on her collar.

She wore a white long-sleeved suit that exposes part of her cleavage, and puffy sleeves that tightened near the wrist before spreading back out near her hands. Her lower body had a black business skirt with buttons running in a vertical line up the front of it and lighter black-brown stockings.

She wore black boots with brown heels, and a tattered cape that is both purple inside and black on the outside, decorated by a row of diamond-shaped brown beads going horizontally across her cape. Above this line of beads appears an emblem of a tiara that is her personal symbol. A subtle thing that no one other than another master hunter would have noticed.

Calmly, her sharp eyes surveyed the scene in front of her, scraping the area for any indication that could have caused the trigger of the code word. She saw her 'Boss' sitting beind his desk calmly, his stack of paperwork balanced on the cane to his right side. On the gear-themed table was the after mentioned 'mess', an ever growing pool of bitter-smelling liquid that stemmed from the coffee mug on his left…which hadn't tipped over?

"Ah Glynda, come we must discuss this." He had one hand folded over his mouth, while the other gestured to the seemingly whole mug standing innocently over the mess. "As you can see, I did not in fact carelessly spill my quarter-full glass of coffee, tip it back and call you here so that you could clean up the mess and make me a new full glass of your wonderful coffee."

Despite the half-true admittance, the woman didn't change her stoic expression. "I assume that you had more in mind than just saying how much you'd like to have an infinite supply of my hand-brewed coffee?" She adjusted her spectacles as she walked over to inspect the mess, her weapon of choice, a crop, out and ready to handle the situation.

"Indeed, my Coffee mug seems to have developed an unseen flaw and cracked open."

The secretary furrowed her brow ever so slightly in disbelief, the mug was hand crafted from a very reputable supplier, one she had personally oversaw the dev- procurement of as a gift.

Glynda peered over the table, just enough to see into the mug, her keen eyes going wide at the impossibility before her.

The Coffee mug had cracked into a very specific shape, one that was a geometrically simplified trident with an indent over the middle point pike. Glynda eyed the symbol for several more moments before straightening herself up and waving her riding crop. This caused the window to open up and the now cooled caffeine gather itself up, levitate outside, and land harmlessly on some trees. The paperwork followed, as it set itself down in an organized fashion, a larger pile going to the desk while a smaller one headed to her hands. The man raised an eye brow when his now shattered mug followed suit.

"I might as well process these while I'm here right? In any case, I shall ensure that this mess does not repeat itself"

He said nothing, watching her leave with the completed paperwork in one arm with the strangely damaged coffee mug set over it. She entered the lift and disappeared below.

He waited several moments in his semi-circular gear-themed chair before releasing a bated breath, one of both relief and resignation.

"Now… what have we here?"

Standing up from his seat, the headmaster ignored the pile of paperwork yet to be done in favour of the small bookshelf he kept. Not many people kept such things now with the level of technology available, but… there was always something comforting in holding a weighty book, as if it had power of some sort.

The man ran his fingers over a row of finely printed, hardcover books, only stopping when he reached near the end. Pulling it out, he noticed that the nearly crumbling leather bound journal had the exact same insignia upon its front page, as if brand new.

Turning it over, the headmaster could only imagine its contents, for he had never opened its crumbling pages.

This aged book, dating back during a time before recorded history of Faunus and Humanity, resisted all attempts to pry it open. Nothing but age seem to have any effect on it, and even that was slow despite its age.

He didn't remember ever getting such a distinct volume, yet it was there.

He looked grasoed the spine and flipped the journal over, and brought it closer to his face. Immediately, he wished he hadn't.

Blood.

The book smelled of blood, no it seemed to be seeped in life fluids of all kinds. The smell was so over powering that even he was repulsed by such a strong and fresh stench. How could he have missed something as odorous as this? Something with such a strong aromatic signature eluding his senses while literally beside him? He knew this scent well, having been in its presence for much of his training years. He gently traced his hands over the book, noting how its pages seemed to part ever so slightly-

A buzzer sounded from his desk, and Ozpin shook his head to clear the addictive haze that had somehow ensnared him. Someone was calling him, but they could wait.

Ozpin tried to open the book as he had nearly succeeded in just moments before, but it failed, he also noticed the overpowering stench of blood was gone. It was now just a regular old book that could not be opened once again.

Sighing, the headmaster placed the ancient tome back to where it belonged and walked over to answer the call. He would solve this mystery another day.

"Headmaster speaking"

"Sir, there is someone that demands to meet you, insists he knows about the 'Mark'. Should I send him a way?"

"No, send him in" After a small pause he responded again, "Did he give a name?"

"Djura, no family name"

"That will be all, thank you"

"Have a pleasant day, sir."

Again, the gears over Ozpin's head pauses several times before returning to a normal rythm, signifying a load upon the elevator.

Djura was coming.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

He could not see, he could not hear, he could not smell, he could not taste. There was only one sensation left to him, which was touch. The world that was once open to him in five different ways was now only open in one. He was blind, deaf, and mute to the world.

He could feel his body, the long, slimy shape it now existed as. It was far too stubby to move anywhere, even the feelers he felt the area around with contained little more strength to move themselves. Never mind even crossing distance, he could barely move as it was with slow, deliberate and easily telegraphed movements that even the lowest of vermin would not be caught in. His body was covered in some sort of viscous fluid, and the slick surface of his body slid harmlessly against cooling blades of grass beneath him, at first prickly sensation before it gave way to softness. From the way it no longer became prickly, he knew that his pathetic struggles had only flattened the grass within his radius, and he had not budged even an inch.

Why? Why did this happen?

Moments before, was practically at the top of his world! He'd slain every Great One that opposed him, fellow hunters that had sought to make him prey, and even his former mentor…

Now he was at rock-bottom, maybe even lower than before, if the loss of functioning limbs counted as one.

This place he landed in was not the Hunter's Dream, but neither was it Yharnam. The air was different here, it was vibrant, fresh, alive, and most of all, untainted. If he could only see the world, he knew it would have been a beautiful sight to behold.

He didn't care where he was, but he knew it had something to do with the defeat of the Moon Presence, the Great One inhabiting the Hunter's Dream. Somehow, the creature's defeat had robbed him of everything but his mind and sense of touch, replacing it with something akin to a slug. Perhaps it was a curse he had to live out for defying a god-like creature? To die completely helpless, in a foreign land, in a foreign body?

If it was meant to break him, they failed.

If it was meant to make him bitter, they certainly succeeded! He was not going to let those he defeated get the last laugh!

Around and around he writhed, struggling to get somewhere, anywhere. He tried to roll, but he could neither twist his body fast or far enough to do so. He tried grasping at the grass blades, but the feelers he used only brushed up against the blades instead to gripping them. If he could compare it to a human body, it would be akin to having only a deformed arm to work with. It was a terrible existence, but one he would not perish into without a fight.

In this form, he could do nothing but slowly thrash around, and hope for something to happen...

Suddenly, he stopped, feeling vibrations getting stronger, from the ground. They were getting louder, which meant that they were heading towards him. They were rhythmic beats that seemed to carry a large weight with much grace, more than a normal human could hope to achieve without dedicated training. So it was either a human, or a beast…

A sharp pain lined his sides as a duller one stepped down upon his back to hold him down. He knew now that it was a beast, one that was tearing into him, and he was helpless to stop it.

Surprisingly, the skin of his new form held together quite well, and the slick surface made it so that the beast had to readjust its grip every moment to keep biting down. He was in great pain, however, as the fangs still scraped across his incredibly acute sense of touch. One that had been enhanced due to the lack of any other senses.

Was he to die here? To a nameless beast, when he had taken down those that lived in a higher plane altogether?

No.

He refused to die, he would not be broken.

Suddenly, knowledge he knew could not exist flowed into him. This was forbidden knowledge, an intellectual construct that could not exist in this plane of existence, the very laws of the lower plane would seek to set it free, and destroy any who sought to contain it. Only madmen and those of the same plane could ever hope to attain Insight.

Yet here he was, completely sane, yet inhuman.

That probably made him something of an acceptable host.

As the Insight he once thought lost filled him, he began to understand more and more. He did not need eyes, for he could now see. He did not need ears, for he could now listen. He did not need a nose or a tongue, for he smelt and tasted the world. Through this, he gained an understanding that could never have been possible by regular means. Like just how to operate his new body, to begin grasping at its potential usefulness... which was still unfortunately quite limited at the moment.

His new Insight allowed him to claw out the secrets of the arcane that were once barred from him, it allowed him to tap into and make use of the-surprisingly- vast amount of Blood Echoes within his stubby frame. He remembered the Old Hunter's Bone and how he had used it to mercilessly hunt down beasts, and eventually its own creator.

It materialized in one of his five feelers, and with the limited understanding of this new body, he managed to somehow to hold it firmly in place. Once again, the beast lost its grip on him, but this time he was ready.

The ancient bone activated, and he was now out of danger.

The beast let out a howl of anger at its escaped prey, but quickly stalked away, disinterested in a tiny prey that was far too difficult to keep a grip on. As it left however, the newly awakened Infant 'Observed' it through its new 'sight'.

This new sixth sense felt strange, it filled the gaps left by his missing sensory units. It was like a visual precognition of the world around him. He tasted the moonlight shining down upon him, heard the fresh breeze passing through, and smelled the darkness around him. He was in a mess, a sensory jumble, but he had enough insight to begin comprehending how to portray the mass of information into a basic shape.

The creature was lupine, with a bone mask over its skull and various parts of its body, it stood on its hind legs, its broad hunched over frame was lined with fur. Its claws swiped the tree bark in irritation, and left a very sizable gash in its wake, it threw one last growl before leaving altogether. He felt fortunate that his body was tough enough to survive such a mauling.

The surroundings were vibrant with much animal and plant life, but it was night time. The moon watched overhead, but despite its beautiful sheen, it was in a sad state.

He wanted to find out what happened to the moon that was once whole. Perhaps killing the Great One that represented a celestial body triggered such a thing?

He didn't know, but he needed to find out as soon as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Djura… what a pleasant surprise…" If anyone even remotely familiar with sarcasm were here, they would have had a heartburn from the sheer acidity of that comment alone, as it was, there were only two, and they were used to such exchanges with each other. Neither the unwilling guest nor host showed any expression.

"Trust me Ozpin, I would not be here if I could be anywhere else!" Djura answered bitterly and truthfully. Djura sported a long, laid back gray hair and an Old Dutch gray beard. He was apparently one-eyed, since he used a bandage as a makeshift eye patch for his left eye. Djura was dressed in tattered, silver clothes and wore a tricorn, both of which were stained in ashen powder. Holstered to his back was a massive chain gun made from slabs of metal that showed great wear and tear, but proved robust enough to keep its shape and apparent usefulness in the modern era. "Still no respect for the elderly I see"

"Only for you" The headmaster kept his visage calm, his acidic words were the only things betraying the swirl of emotions just below the surface. "Now what did you want? I have an academy to run for aspiring young huntsmen and huntresses and that takes quite a bit of effort"

"I need a teaching position here" Djura requested bluntly.

"Absolutely not!" Ozpin flat out denied with more hostility in his tone than intended.

Djura walked over and slammed both hands on the metal desk that Ozpin worked on and met the headmaster's gaze squarely "I am the best Hunter in Remnant, Ozpin. Even you can't claim to have several dozen Elder Grimm, and three Ancient kills under your belt!"

"No, but I can claim to have taught some who have similar kills"

"You forget who taught you those very same skills in the first place"

Silence reigned between the two, a clash of Aura as each of them measured up against the other once the word games had come to a close. It was a silent battle that only masters of Aura could even hope to perceive. The conflict of Aura with an external entity which did not involve Semblance was something very few could claim to do. Two of those same people were in this very room.

"Then tell me why?" The confrontation cooled off at the same time, returning the atmosphere into its calm, but still agitated state. The Headmaster of Beacon tracked the man for any signs of dishonesty or deceit, however, there was only great dislike emanating from him. "I cannot, in good conscience allow my precious students to go through such torture willingly!"

"Torture? Don't make me laugh Ozpin! When you trained under me, you begged me for every scrap of knowledge I could give you, and eagerly went through all that 'torture' to get where you are today!" Djura folded his hands behind him, walking briskly to the bookshelf even as he continued to speak. "If I should announce my presence to your precious 'students', how many do you think would throw themselves at me for a chance to personally train under one of the greatest Hunters in history? Half the school?"

Ozpin said nothing. While it was true Djura was not the most well-known Huntsman in Remnant, he was a Hunter. He had claimed over several thousand bounties, both Grimm and Human alike. The man was no pushover, and should he ever claim his status in front of Beacon's students, there would be no telling the chaos it would ensue, especially since he could not deny the utter truth of the statement. All it would take was for a curious student to check the list of Huntsman and Huntresses active on the Dustnet to incite mass hysteria.

"To make the decision easier, allow me to show you something I'm sure you are familiar with" The Hunter picked out a book from the bookcase, it was an old and ragged leather bound journal. The same inoperable book that had sat there until just recently. Djura nonchalantly bit his thumb and swiped blood over it, then there was a terrible smell in the room.

He opened the book to the first page.

"I'm sure this symbol is very familiar to you, former student of mine" Djura watched in satisfaction at the slightly dilated pupils, the only sign of surprise, Ozpin made at the simple gesture of opening the book.

"That symbol…" Ozpin stood up and walked over with his cane to get a better look, however, Djura pulled the collection away out of arms reach. It was nothing the headmaster could not overcome with his abilities… but such an altercation over it wasn't worth the effort. "I've seen it before"

"Did you dream it? Or was it in a physical manifestation?" Djura placed the book back where it belonged, the pungent smell of blood vacating the room immediately afterwards. The elder turned to his junior and they met gazes.

"My favourite coffee mug cracked into that exact shape just recently"

"I see" For the first time, the elder Hunter looked harried. Ozpin narrowed his eyes in concern, as this had never happened before. "An Omen strong enough to affect the waking world is it? Not good, this makes it even more imperative that you give me a teaching position here, Ozpin"

"Omens and Dreams? Djura, I would laugh at you… had I not experienced them myself while under you" Ozpin clutched his cane tightly as a decision came to mind. He hoped to whatever Deity watching over Remnant would forgive him for this. He took in a deep breath, and let it out to clam himself "You'll start next week, once we've finished helping Vale with cleaning up the breach down town, a room will be assigned to you and your things as they are sent over"

The old Hunter did not smile, he disliked it the idea as much as the headmaster in front of him, especially the irony that he now worked under his former student. "Then I will leave you with the preparations. I'm sure you haven't forgotten the process I made you go through to study under me."

"There will be lots of… transfusion materials needed." The headmaster frowned "There is nowhere near enough of that substance for the whole school"

"Do not worry, tomorrow you will find a delivery with the materials and instructions of the dosage needed to be administered" Djura turned to leave, he was done here. "Don't waste a single drop you hear? I spent a lot of effort NOT bleeding out from draining myself dry every other week to get that amount."

"I will see you next week then… master" A small spark of respect padded the headmaster's words upon hearing the needed substance came from a rather… vital source. Djura momentarily paused upon hearing this, whether in shock or satisfaction, he did not know. He raised his right hand and waved it in a departing gesture.

"You've long become my equal in skill if not experience and power, Ozpin… but I guess there is always more to be learnt. Ensure my students are mentally and physically prepared for the Dream to come, it is all I ask"

The elevator doors slid open and the notoriously unknown Hunter stepped into it. It would take a while to move his things to a more convenient location within the academy. He would need to get things set up.

Break

Apartments in Vale weren't very cheap by any standards, but it was a misconception if one thought they were all within a narrow price range. Realistically, the expensive ones were near the centre of the city, while highly affordable ones were near the walls. They did not differ much in terms of quality, but the fear of Grimm placed security above comfort, hence the price difference.

In one particular apartment that a certain pair shared, one of them was returning.

"How was the talk, Djura?" The voice belonged to a woman past per prime, but still strengthened by her will power alone. It was an odd accent that pointed towards the kingdom of Vacuo. The woman sat in a rocking chair in front of a warm fire place, in her hands were knitting needles weaving together an unidentified garment, and the material it used was a crimson thread from a metal bucket to her side.

"All went smoother than I expected it to, which makes this all the moredire" He replied, "Have you finished the garments yet Eileen?"

"Does it look like these old hands can make something that can surpass garbs made by the church with dedicated seamstresses? I am doing the best I can Djura, but there is only so much I can weave together, even with the salvaged materials Doll sent us!" The old woman, Eileen admitted. She gestured to her side, indicating a pile of completed garb to her side. They were basic Sets of Hunter garb, stitched together from the remnants of all deceased hunters' equipment gathered throughout the uncountable ages in the Dream once Hunters were 'Awoken' from their Dream. Some of them were damaged, and only needed minor repairs, but many were too far gone and had to be salvaged for parts this process was easy to do so.

Making an entirely new garb from scratch, however, was not.

:"If only Doll were here…"

"If she were here, she would be sitting in a corner uselessly taking up space! Djura, you know she cannot manifest in the waking world, no matter how much stronger the Dream is right now." Her knitting did not break stride, a testament to her concentration, "Now go rest up, I won't be needing your Blood for the next batch in any case"

Ever since the defeat of the Moon Presence, the contracts binding all hunters seemed to have changed. Hunter's like Djura and Eileen who had finished their terms, were supposedly unable to ever enter the hunter's dream, yet they found that they could. The Hunter's Dream was much stronger here, anyone that had ever been contracted and that was still alive was reinstated, but this time, it was not with immortality until completion of terms, but rather vitality that ensured that death could only come from sure-fatal wounds, such as beheading, or a gouged heart.

He had tested out the new terms of his new contract very thoroughly in the Emerald forest, and met Eileen in the process.

The argument broke into an accepting silence, as Djura took a seat on a couch nearby, his signature weapon placed on a rack. He let out a defeated sigh. "Didn't we wake up yet Eileen? Hadn't 'he' ended the Nightmare for good?" There was no response save the crackling of fire and knitting of wool, as two old Hunters focused on their new reluctant tasks.

The guilt wrenching task of turning the relatively innocent Huntsman and Huntresses into blood stained Hunters.

Djura grimaced, he had just told Ozpin to contract innocent children into a potentially unending nightmare of blood, death and madness. He, Eileen and Ozpin were the only known Hunters, and to add more to the Dream simply tore his heart out, it bled him of his dry wit. Perhaps at the very least, Doll would not get lonely anymore.

If only 'he' were here…

With another sigh, Djura closed his eyes to recover. Eileen was far too fragile to draw blood from, and he would never accept anything compromising the health of his mutual friend. She had suffered enough anyways, they both had.

"Good night, Eileen"

"Give my greetings to Doll would you?

"Fine"

Break

He laid there in the hollow of a tree, waiting for the pack of bone-plated beasts to pass by. It had been a mistake making continuous use of the Old Hunter's Bone to swiftly move rapid distances. The soft, misty glow of the ability allowed him to be tracked by one that had caught sight of him in this otherwise darkened forest. The rest had followed, and he had only lost them due to learning how to jump out of their line of sight, and wiggle into the hollow he now resided in.

However, it was getting really cold, so he could not stay too long outside. What he could he do to warm up? Any form of illumination could attract his pursuers, so fire was out. Maybe an article of clothing? He was slightly larger than the average human's arm from tip to tip, so the only thing that could fit him was a glove and long sleeve from a shirt, which would make him appear to be a cut-off arm, moving on its own…

While not as grotesque as many things he'd seen, he doubted normal people would even approach such a thing should he be spotted, and he wanted to be spotted if there was civilization. Then again, animated arm was probably a lot less scary than the alien slug-like creature he was now.

Arm disguise it is then.

Now, if he remembered how he manifested the Old Hunter's Bone from his Blood Echoes, he could probably recreate a portion of an outfit he once wore.

It would be dawn soon, if the colour of the sky was of any indication.

Break

"I swear, our Headmaster has it in for me, I just know it!" Yang complained, as she pushed out boulder the nearby machines couldn't. "I mean, why do I have to work in conditions that would ruin my hair while my partner does some desk job that doesn't involve hair-murder?"

"Shut up and keep lifting, Yang. I'm suffering as much as you are here" Weiss replied in a bored tone, using her glyphs to help pick up debris too dangerous or small to be handled by workers. However, the main difference was the fact that she was sitting in a chair under an umbrella with a cool glass of water beside her, all of which was made from using her Semblance of Glyphs to reshape the debris into a desired object. "Ruby is busy running errands to the reconstruction workers, in an air conditioned building, so just shut up and take a drink and cool down"

Yang shot a smouldering gave at her white teammate, before huffing in annoyance and accepting the cool glass of lemonade that hovered to her. "Nice trick" She gulped the fluids down before letting out a satisfied breath.

"I learned a thing or two after watching Miss Goodwitch repair that massive hole in the ground, we do have the same type of semblance after all." Weiss replied, still putting away dangerous debris while barely moving her weapon. There was silence.

"Yang?" Weiss asked as she turned, unsure of her teammate's sudden silence.

"Huh? Oh sorry, I thought I saw some old man with a weird sense of style pass by" Yang replied hastily, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "He was carrying something that looked like a real mean version of Coco's weapon"

"You mean that beast Miss Adel totes around in a handbag?" Weiss shook her head in disbelief, "If it's not collapsible I doubt it would be wieldable due to its sheer weight. Miss Adel's weapon has a high size to weight ratio due to the collapsible nature, as do most of our modern weapons. Something that big, that's not collapsible would be far too heavy to lift. I'm sure you were imagining things"

"Yeah, I guess so…" The Blonde sounded uncertain, but she continued in her work, the day had only started, and it would be some time before lunch. A nagging feeling at the back of her head that she had forgotten something.

Break

Dawn came far faster than he had anticipated, but he had had time to experiment with his new abilities. It had turned out that he only needed to remember the item he desired, and so long as it was within (his) memory, it would definitely turn up, at a reasonable amount of Blood Echoes. However, things that were not in his memory costs much more, he had learned this upon calling up the left sleeve of his Hunter garb and glove into existence. The result was his feelers taking up the role of fingers and the rest of his body as the arm.

Such a thing never existed, until he called upon it, and as a result of this, a large chunk of his substantial Blood Echoes were gone, equivalent to several million Blood Echoes. It was an investment he was unsure would stand up to the bone-masked creatures roaming outside. Armour, in his experience was a last resort to deflect hits rather than take them head on in case he could not time his dodges right.

Next, he looked upon several items he was quite familiar with, they were: Fire Paper, Bolt Paper, Empty Phantasm Shell, Choir Bell, Old Hunter's Bone, A Call Beyond, Augur of Ebrietas, Executioner's Glove, Beast Roar, Tiny Tontirus, Shaman Bone Blade, Pebble, Poison Knife, Throwing Knife, Hand Lantern, Molotov Cocktail (Rope), Pungent Blood Cocktail, Lead Elixir, Blue Elixir and a utility belt to hold six of these while the rest would go into his newly created inventory bag.

Donning the previously non-existent mixture of sleeve-glove parts was not as hard as it looked. His slick surface allowed for easy passage into the dark vacuum within, and as his feelers took their positions as fingers, he sealed the opening with a stitching of cloth. Now it looked like a completely detached knight's arm that had been cauterised off with extreme heat with a pouch in its death grip.

Next, he wore the Executioner's Glove, before placing the other six items within the pouches: Old Hunter's Bone, Pebble, Molotov cocktail (Rope), Choir Bell, Shaman Bone Blade and Tiny Tontirus. This Utility belt was deftly fastened over his 'arm', each item now within easy reach. Only practice would allow greater utility of these picked items.

Still, despite being as fully equipped as he could be, he was still uneasy about the beasts that prowled the woods and what civilization would discover him. Perhaps he could find one of these creatures alone to practice on? He was a Hunter after all, it didn't matter if he was in a severely reduced state.

A Hunter must hunt.

 **A/N: Alright, so maybe I OP'ed the Newborn Great One/Good Hunter too much with the new gear? But what do you expect to accomplish as just a left arm? Having your Whole body onto an unfamiliar form before taking on a role that you just barely use as a disguise can play havoc on one's skills and self-confidence. I hope this story will progress well enough that I can get to the First Arc.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Attention, all Beacon Academy students and Professors, this is your Headmaster speaking. Due to an upcoming addition in the curriculum, all classes will be cancelled for today, please report to the Amphitheatre for immediate vaccination. That is all." The announcement echoed throughout the Academy, and from the hidden cameras throughout the academy, Ozpin could see that everyone was leaving their classes to gather at said building. Several of the more senior staff however, seemed to be heading in his office's direction, most likely to question this sudden shift in schedule. He decided to fix that. "Attention, I will be heading to the Amphitheatre shortly as well to personally administer the shots, please do be patient."

While that stopped the senior staff from moving to him, it did raise more than a few eyebrows. The Headmaster was going to do something the Academy's medical staff did on a regular basis, by himself? The very idea was absurd enough to laugh at!

Ozpin stood up and took a peek out the window of his office. Driving down the main avenue was a delivery van containing the mentioned shots, just as Djura promised the day before. Nodding in content, Ozpin set out to mentally prepare himself to give more that several thousand people a whole night of nightmares.

Break

"Yang, I'm scared of needles! I don't want a shot!" It was at this point where team RWBY was reminded of just how much mentally and physically mature they were compared to their leader… who still had a fear of injections. Ruby was currently hugging the doorframe of their dorm room, and her teammates were scratching their heads on how to pry her off the frame without injuring her.

Promises and even advanced payment of cookies from Yang did nothing.

Chastising from Weiss made her clutch the frame even harder.

Blake taking Crescent Rose with them as they pretended to walk away made her tear up.

That was, until one person none of them wanted to meet until later came in.

"Miss Rose, might I ask why you are delaying your team for this compulsory vaccination?"

Ruby made a frightened yelp as the Headmaster walked by the terribly embarrassing scene, despite his gaze, the girl refused to let go of the doorway.

:"H-headmaster! I-I-I'm afraid…" Although the rest of her sentence trailed off into a teary mumble, the older man nodded in understanding and slightly smiled.

"Do not worry Miss Rose, I have something prepared just for highly unlikely cases like these." The understanding smile he gave was enough to reassure the young leader to loosen up. This was when her elder sister came in and grabbed onto her into a bear hug. He gave an amused smile at the prominent first-year student's antics. "If you really don't want to take the shot, then please come meet me in my office later today alright?"

"O-okay. Thank you Headmaster!" This relief made the little girl unwind greatly. "Then we'll be heading off now!"

While their young leader practically skipped away, the rest of her team followed after with much less vigour. It was a while before Weiss confronted the Headmaster for the apparent favouritism.

"Sir, if I may be so bold as to inquire about your somewhat lofty attitude towards Ruby? I mean…"

"Disgusting" Ozpin said, and Weiss blinked in surprise, by now they were far enough away that only a Faunus, Blake, could hear their little discussion.

"Excuse me?"

"The Vaccination I'm having you all take, it can be orally consumed as well for the same effect. Essentially, you don't need to have an injection for it" Ozpin explained, and when Weiss stared at him for the 'but', he conceded." However, it tastes disgusting, not even holding your breath or nose will stop that vile, Grimm-cursed liquid from burning your throat raw and tongue unusable for at least a full day, any food consumed during this time frame will taste the exactly as disgusting as the liquid"

"Oh" Weiss seemed to pale at this revelation. The terrible fate that awaited her partner should she continue on her non-injective path that is.

Then the Headmaster's expression drifted off as if recalling some bitter memory. "Even now I can never escape that awful taste in my mind no matter how many cups of coffee I take…"

As Ozpin turned, he saw that the Schnee was gone. She and the Faunus were by their young leader's side, actively trying to convince her that it was an absolutely terrible idea to not take the shot. He smiled at the bond they all shared with each other, secretly proud at the fact that Ruby's partner would place her pride aside for her partner's potential mental safety. She could have kept silent, but she didn't. She could have rejected Blake's assistance, but she didn't.

It was heart-warming scenes like this that allowed his guilt to ease its tight hold upon his heart… or tighten it upon realization of their fates.

Briskly walking past, Ozpin noted the look of intense consideration from the young team leader's innocent facial features.

Break

Within the Amphitheatre, Ozpin was seated within a curtained off section of the room. The place contained a box full of viscous, red vials, a table, and two chairs, one for him, and the other for his patient. By now he had gone through all of the staff, fourth, third, second and most of the first years. This was done by having each person come in, have their identity discreetly verified by Scroll scans, followed by an injection so quick, it was done before the person even sat down and realized the shot had been taken. They were then told to leave with a small bandage.

Finally it came time for Ruby, and as the youngest, she was most definitely last. Ozpin gave her a confident smile as she sat down, waiting for her shot. This time, he did not rush things. "So I see you finally came, what changed your mind Miss Rose?"

"Well, Weiss seemed really into the fact that she did not want me to go to your office to take the alternative. Blake as well." The young leader began, her chest puffed out with bravado "Initially I wanted to deny them, but then I saw sincerity in them. I felt that I would really ruin something in the team if I didn't take the shot. Besides I'm big girl!"

"I see, then you are not afraid?" Ozpin had now prepared the final shot, for one so young, he had to prepare a bigger dosage for their bodies to adapt. At the sight of the needle, Ruby paled and deflated considerably.

"T-terrified" She admitted under a trembling voice, yet she was still here, facing her fears despite the terror.

"Don't worry this will be over before- oh look it's a cookie!"

"Where?" Even as Ruby turned her head to the table, Ozpin had already placed a plate of cookies upon it for her to focus on. As soon as she spotted them, he disrupted her aura in a particular spot, injected her, and placed a band aid with cartoonish Beowulf's on it. All within milliseconds. "Oh, there! But what about my injection, Headmaster?"

"Didn't I say it would be done before you knew it? It's done, take the cookies and go, just remember to return them to the cafeteria when you're done, Miss Rose"

"Thank you, Headmaster!" Ruby left the curtains with a plate full of cookies, which she then distributed to her fellow first years and even some second years when there was extra. She had only taken two for herself despite easily being able to stomach the whole plate with room to spare.

As he began sorting away the used vials for thorough sterilization, a smirk found its way to his lips, "You're maturing quite well Miss Rose… your mother would be proud"

Break

"Oh Ruby, I'm so proud of you for deciding to take the shot!" Yang shouted as soon as the girl finished distributing her cookies to everyone. The younger sister was caught an all-encompassing hug that any male would give their right arm for a chance at. Fortunately, Ruby was having none of it, and she escaped after finishing both her snacks. "If it weren't for Weiss and Blake convincing me, I would not have gone at all, so the ones that really need to be congratulated are these two!"

"Oh thats right! Come here you two!"

"Hey, watch it you brute!"

"…"

Strange as it was, Blake seemed to be the most content out of the three in their group hug, while Weiss has seethingly jealous at the rather generous bosom she was exposed to… but did not have. "Come on guys, let's go have fun! We've got the whole day off remember?"

"Yay! Weiss, where are we going?" Ruby asked innocently with wide shining eyes.

"W-why are you asking me, you dolt?" Weiss snapped back weakly.

"Because you have all the money and you're the smartest out of all of us, obviously it's your decision right?" Ruby asked and answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Weiss, having both been complemented, insulted and convinced all in one sentence, simply broke down, having no idea how to react to such adorable stupidity.

"L-let's just get back to the dorm and pack, I could stock up on some aspirin right now…"

With Weiss leading the way while sorting her thoughts, the team went back to their dorms, followed closely by team JNPR.

Break

Dusk had passed, and now that the sun was gone, the Hunter made his move on his chosen prey. It did not matter the enormous size difference, the prey would eventually fall to the hunter, and they always would. It was just a matter of the right tools, and skillset. Right now, the Bone-plated less shadow wolf that had so foolishly wandered off from his pack was his chosen target.

It had been all too easy. The lone straggler, the runt of the pack was falling behind, and when he'd thrown a pebble hard enough to snap a twig a dozen meters away, the runt had gone to investigate, the others not paying any attention to the useless wanderer had continued their trek.

The Hunter knew his objective tonight was not to kill…immediately, but to learn. Once he'd learned all he could, he would claim his prey as his role demanded, but to do so required much sampling from various populations and areas. Just from one type of prey, he had to learn their general behaviour in different conditions, exceptional behaviours in exceptional circumstances, their hunting grounds, their territory, usual trails, diets, and weaknesses each of them had.

So far during the day he had discovered regular animals, and these shadow stained creatures. There was a wolf, boar, elephant, scorpion, raven and a bear to name a few. Many of them were much larger than their normal counterparts, he also noticed that the larger versions seemed to lead the smaller one. These bigger ones also had more bone-plating covering their shadow bodies, and seemed much more cautious than their smaller brethren.

Right now he wanted to find out just what they were weak to. Were they prone to slashing, crushing, burning, electrifying, poisoning, or arcane damage? Did they have a specific area that could be used to stun and perform a fatal visceral attack upon? How fast, strong or intelligent was it?

How much Blood Echoes could he get?

The night before, he was attacked by one that was much larger and probably older than this one. The prey in front of him was covered in shadow, not a speck of white bone covering their bodies. It was young, fresh, and new.

The best moulds to work from.

He released his grip from the branches above, and dropped down, making sure to draw the young beast's attention as he did. As soon as he fell completely to the floor, the beast immediately fell upon him, all claws and tearing teeth.

He felt the leather armour hold out easily enough against the creature, the claws barely even scratching the bark of the tree it has using as a stabilizer and he was laying against. There was no coordination here, just simple instinct to attack and eat anything alien to it.

Deciding that he knew the base characteristics of the beast before him enough, he decided to test the toughness of the creature's structure. The feelers curled, grabbing onto the beast's paw as it held it down, and squeezed.

Immediately, the fore leg it used was literally crushed into dust, flaking away from the main body like dried blood would. The creature howled in anguish as it recoiled in pain, and it backed away in caution of the registered threat.

The 'Hunter' decided that there was only one thing left to be learnt. He leaped from his prone position and latched on to the beast's throat, ensuring a firm grip before squeezing it. There was little more resistance, before the head separated from the main body, both parts dissolving into the air like dust in the wind. Soon there was nothing left of the altercation save some barely visible scratch marks on the tree bark.

It was time to find stronger prey.

Break

Ozpin watched dusk approach form his office. While everyone else was have a one day paid vacation, and the students were free for the day, he was the only one who was actually working. There shouldn't be any one besides him.

The gears overhead momentarily paused.

Who was that? He was sure he told everyone to take the day off to unwind for the upcoming stress, of both the Vytal Festival and the Curriculum change. So who-?  
"Your coffee, Headmaster"

Ozpin smiled, a sad one adorning his usually stoic features.

"Thank you Miss Goodwitch, but shouldn't you be relaxing right now?" Ozpin asked, as he happily drank down the dark liquid. His assistant remained stoic.

"You never forget to ask for Coffee, Ozpin. I can't relax while something seems amiss with you" She stated bluntly."

"You really should get some rest Glynda, you'll need all your energy for the events to come tonight" The serious way he spoke, as well as the now forgotten coffee on the table spoke volumes on the distraction he was having. "Tonight, I suspect not one of us will get a restful night"

She blinked in surprise, having no idea what he was referring to. "Sir, I'm not very sure what you're implying…

The man turned to her, his gaze as flat as stone, and just as heavy. "What I mean, Glynda is that tonight, there will be nightmares. Every night will be restless and tiring, up until next week, when the new curriculum is to be implemented"

The secretary stepped back, the realization of a suspicion hit her, but she did not want to believe it. Did Ozpin, one of Remnant's best Huntsman deliberately drug his entire student body and staff? The maelstrom of thoughts was too much for the poor woman, and she overloaded on the spot.

Luckily, the man was there to catch her fall and lay her in one of the guest chairs to rest.

"I would say sweet dreams… but I would be lying."

With a heavy heart, the Hunter began sorting through his paperwork, hoping that it would last through the frightened screams of slumbering students and teachers that would no doubt plague the night.

Break

"Ah, that totally hit the spot!" Ruby said as she patted her stomach, still slightly bloated from the excellent cuisine Weiss had taken them too. "Thanks Weiss, you're the best!"

"You dolt! Get off me, we're in public!" Weiss whispered alarmingly as she attempted to pry Ruby's death grip off her. Meanwhile, Yang was swinging Blake around in a hug, the other girl didn't seem to mind at all.

"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport Weiss! Let my sister shower you with affection! Blake isn't complaining or being ungrateful!"

"… It's getting late, we should head back" Blake suddenly said. The other's surprised by hearing the Faunus's voice after some time could only nod.

The four of them headed back to Beacon via the Bulkhead awaiting them.

None of them would expect the endless nightmare to come.

Break

"Djura, sometimes I wonder… did those children really have to suffer the Nightmare? I know it's just your memories, but…" Eileen's hands had momentarily paused their continuous knitting, her concentration broken by unloved memories, bloody memories.

"It's fine, I've only ever killed the beasts during the Hunt. I was young, foolish and impressionable. They will not see the things I did after Gehrrman awoke me form the Dream." Djura said, "Besides, they will most likely be wandering the Dream, where Doll will fill them in on things. Only those truly lusting for such carnage will witness the kills through my eyes. Otherwise, it will be a simple matter of engraving basic knowledge and properties of a Hunter into their mind and body as they sleep. It will be disconcerting enough to invoke nightmares, yes, but not the Nightmare. Not yet at least."

"I see" Eileen continued her weaving, taking note that the man she lived with was neatly packing countless Dust rounds into his Chain gun ammunition belt. There were already several crates full of the filled ammunition belts, each one easily a thousand rounds strong. They would have to find a way to store these dust rounds before they ran out of space, at least until the movers come in.

This was all they did now, this was all they could do. They were connected to the Dream, yes, but the years have diminished their insight to the point where Messengers were almost invisible. It was hard having sanity and Insight at the same time without the constant conflict to keep the madness at bay. Peace of mind soon won over, and Eileen did not have a single shred of Insight, while Djura had but one sliver. It was hard, but Eileen had already passed her duties to another, her time had ended. That didn't stop her from the side-lines though.

"Six days left, huh?" A puff of smoke left the Hunter's mouth as he lit up a cigar, to calm his fraying nerves "I just hope Dust rounds are enough for the job, I'd hate to teach them that their blood is valuable enough to make Quick Silver rounds from, given they have a high enough Bloodtinge anyway."

"Even with the advances in technology away from the Blood, it still comes back."

Technology had advanced much since their time, and their reformed connection to the Dream was the only reason they had survived thus far. Why they had been reconnected was anyone's guess, they could not enter the Dream to find out, however, Doll kept silent.

In this age, new technologies and sciences had been founded. Collapsible and multi-function weapons were the main stream in this age, something that neither Hunters were too eager to forget. To blend in, they had been forced to re forge their weapons into a more modern incarnation, whilst applying the infusion of Blood to enable the proper usage with both Aura and Bloodtinge.

Djura's Chain Gun for example, was made for complete carnage at the cost of fire rate and weight, when he could have used a lighter frame for easier transport. Each shot could easily pass through a meter of solid steel, and regular Grimm had no chance against it whatsoever. When he used his Quick Silver rounds, even Elder Grimm were laid low in seconds. This applied for his melee and side arm as well.

So… to need so many new Hunters, just how powerful was the threat they faced going to be?

 **A/N: I will end here, two chapters in one day is quite exhausting. I tried to get the cast as much screen time as I could, I apologize if your JNPR couples did not appear! I hope I portrayed the learning process of Hunters correctly, as well as the sheer firepower Djura possesses. I kind of felt bad for him, even though I never played the game before, I felt he was more neglected that Eileen. I also apologize to those who wanted Eileen back in action, but she will be supporting from the side-lines most of the time. Who knows, maybe a little Insight could help her get back to her feet?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **A/N: There will be very graphic content in this chapter, you need only read up to the second 'Break', after which, slightly gory content will be inputted. This is a warning to all those under aged readers, or those who don't think they can handle a little gore.**

The moon shone brightly under the cover of darkness, and as the last vestiges of his shadowy prey faded away, the light poured into the clearing. Within revealed a detached leather armored arm surrounded in devastation in the form of gouged earth, clawed off tree bark and an overall sense of great struggle. Other than this, the clearing remained an absolute sense of tranquility. It was something he could agree with.

If not for the Insight he had revealing to him that this was more than just a simple tranquil clearing in the middle of the green forest. All around him were the transparent recordings of those that had met their demise in this very spot, their last moments of struggle captured with perfect precision before an invisible enemy ended it. The recordings were silent, and they were familiarly humanoid, the most alien being the occasional set of animal ears atop their heads. None seemed hostile, and were working along their more human counterparts against a common enemy before succumbing to death.

He could see the Messengers holding up the last actions of those that had died bravely in the fight, guarding the last moments of Hunters with unwavering loyalty as they always did. They appeared the same as they always did, small groups of skeletal, infant-like creatures that were worshipped the Hunters. They continued to do so here, though the era may have changed.

The apparitions appeared different as they struggled. He was used to seeing those clad in dark leathers and cloth or thin armor plating, while carrying a ranged weapon in their left and a melee one in their right. These Hunters however were different, for their clothes were bright, and sported such gaudy ornamentation, such that even Cainhurst Nobles would have gone green with envy. Their weapons were different as well, as it seemed to combine both ranged and multiple melee forms into a singular package. No two were ever alike, and he wondered if the diversity of Workshops here had been in high enough number and in great enough technological advancement to enable such a high quantity and quality of weapons.

He approached one of the Messengers that eternally grieved upon the death of a Hunter with Bear-like characteristics, wielding what appeared to be a Hammer/Flail. The creatures paid him no heed save to cry moan harder in anguish at the loss of their Hunter. From the similar ways the recordings of deceased the Hunters ended up, they either did not heed the warnings… or did not see it at all.

It was a rather troubling thought that a Hunter could possibly not see the final moments of another Hunter's fate, despite the unmistakable visage of Messengers in the area. They were denizens of the Nightmare realm, of the lowest social caste, able to manifest both themselves and items in both the dream and the waking world. The former needing Blood Echoes to work.

So why? Not even a little bit of Insight was required to see them, any regular Hunter bound to the contract would been able to observe and interact with them, just as he was doing right now.

Was it possible that they were not the Hunters he knew? It was certainly possible with such a massive difference between the ones before him and those he knew. Such an assumption would most certainly explain the unacceptable number of Hunters who had died here. If such a thing was true, then he needed to do something about this terrible waste of life… after all, not all Hunters could Dream.

This world needed proper Hunters, not ones that could not live up to their role of Prey and Predator.

The stars gleamed, and he slinked away with his serpentine body to find more worthy prey. The shadowy bone wolves were no longer enough to satisfy his hunger for the hunt, not even their leading brethren. Maybe it was time to try out those shadowy boars…

Break

Atop the tower that Beacon Academy's Headmaster resided, the hands met at the apex, signifying midnight had come. Below, the man paused his backlog of work to listen to the chime as the mechanisms began to play a deep, whispering tune throughout the school. By this time, everyone was a sleep as per curfew, or getting ready for bed.

The Dreams would not come until sometime after their first deep sleep cycle, it was until that time that silence reigned, save the rhythmic movements of the gears above him. Across, he observed his assistant and friend sleep soundly, her first deep sleep cycle already beginning to end, if her rapidly moving eyeball was of any indication.

As Ozpin continued to fill out paperwork and prepared to soften out any future ones, he hoped that she would not have to experience the horrors he went through when he had been inducted by Blood. Although Djura had assured him that only those lusting for carnage would witness these very horrors, he was still quite concerned.

It was getting chilly tonight.

"I'm sorry Glynda…" Ozpin said softly as he came back with a warm blanket. He carefully draped it over her sleeping form, careful not to disturb her. "Please just hold on until dawn"

After that, there was only the smooth scrawl of pen marking on paper, the rustling sheets as paper moved, and the ticking of the gears above.

Break

It was a strange place, the haze surrounded everything, and she could see nothing at all. She knew she was naked, but something prevented her from caring. Her feet was soaked in something thick and warm, while the air was chilly and carried with it a confusingly familiar coppery scent that made her sick. No matter how far she walked, nothing seemed to change, save the liquid below.

What was once a thin layer grew with every step she took. First her ankles were submerged, then her elbows, then her chest. Each time she took a step, the level rose. The liquid was warm, its smell became stronger, and a sweet stench that made her sick. The warmth enveloped her, banishing the chilly mist from her bare skin, it was comforting.

She took several more steps, aware that anymore would drown her, but it would bring her warmth and comfort. The liquid reached her tongue, and she tasted it. It was intoxicatingly sweet, coppery thick taste lingered in her mouth, and as her eyes were submerged, she saw only crimson in her vision.

The color dominated her senses, overruling all other senses and desires. The hunger for it grew, and she gulped down more of the crimson Amboise that threatened to drown her. It wasn't enough, not enough…

"Are you lost?"

A voice pierced through the crimson haze that surrounded her, and she felt the fluids withdraw from her, and with it, her desire to consume it. Soon, the fluids were dried up, and she felt untouched by liquid, as if she had not previously bathed in that strange fluid. The motherly tone in that question felt right, like a piece she never knew she was missing had been returned.

"Are you cold? Then come here…"

Warm arms wrapped themselves around her, enveloping her entire existence in comfort she never knew possible. Though she could not see, the outside for some reason, she did not need to. This comforting presence, this affectionate gesture, it was all she ever needed…

The remaining night was spent in comforting bliss for one Ruby Rose.

Break

While one Huntress-in-training had painlessly transitioned into a Hunter, there were those that were not as fortunate. For Ruby Rose, her childish mind could not yet comprehend senseless violence, and hence had no reason to desire it whatsoever, for this reason she spent the night in blissful comfort. Her teammates however, were not so fortunate, each of them having some dark desire they would rather forget and leave behind.

The Blood awakened the beasts that had been chained deep within them.

For Weiss, it was the systematic loss of her relatives and family friends to White Fang Assassinations and other political parties that desired her as a puppet. The loss of her childhood as she forced herself to train her mind and body upon maturing enough to recognize her father's disappointment in her weakness, let her witness cruelties she would have been better not witnessing. Her own home was solitary and cold, due to lack of sufficient family members to fill it up anymore, one she had adapted to over the course of her young life.

For Blake, it was the fall of the White Fang from the peaceful protest group she had admired with all her heart, to the blood addled group that would stop at nothing for dominance. The crushing weight as her people were subjected to cruelties and the idolized group turning into some shadowy organization broke her heart. The mentor she looked up to molded her into the shadow to more suitably perform their covert operations. Then when she decided to cut ties with the shadowed past, she had been unable to properly even give a farewell to him.

For Yang, her bright image hid a shadow so deeply entrenched, that local crime lords quaked in their boots upon seeing her luminous hair. She and her father shared much in common, almost being a female clone of him in many respects. Busting up crimes, helping friends that had been caught in too deep with the wrong people and peeking into dark places and let her witness the darker aspects of the city. They were memories she did not want to surface, and for fear of the baby sister she loved, hoped they would stay dead.

Each of them had witnessed darkness, and when the Dream came, their blood would into their worst nightmares to shape them into t rue Hunters. An eye for an eye, blood for blood, there can be no easy path to great strength if there is a means to it. Horror can only be fought with horrors, fears with fears, there was no other way.

For three members of team RWBY, there was only blood and nightmares of the past to haunt them.

Break

Cardin walked through the chilling fog that permeated the town. He was scared, lonely and cold. None of his teammates were nearby for some reason, and his head felt fuzzy. The town did not seem like the usual streets of Vale, rather they had gothic dominated architecture, made from stone and steel. The streets were lined with coffins sealed in chains for some odd reason he could not bring himself to care about. He should feel alarmed, at the unfamiliar settings that surroundings, but he could not. He felt like a passenger on a ride, unable to even express his frustrations at the sight.

The cobbled streets were slick with a dark substance that emitted a sickly sweet aroma, and he resisted the urge to bend down and lick it up. He felt an impulsive tugging towards a direction.

A vaguely human shape appeared within the obscure mist, and relief washed over Cardin. He increased his pace, a small measure of hope with human contact at last! He grabbed the man's shoulder and roughly turned him over, in exchange, he saw a glint of something metallic in the man's hands.

With reflexes that allowed him to enroll in Beacon, Cardin hopped back just in time to avoid getting his throat slit by the crude cleaver this man held. No, he didn't seem human anymore, if the feral look and furry patches were of any indication. The creature snarled and continued its forward charge, Cardin could only side step due to lack of any weapon on hand.

But the face looked familiar…

Dove?

Suddenly, a sharp pain entered his back, it stunned him long enough for the beast to mount right on top of him, the crude weapon approaching inches towards his face-

Break

Ren took hold of his weapon where it was propped up with his blood stained hands. The body of his adversary lying on the ground, a gaping hole where his hand had removed a vital organ from. The wound continued to bleed out, the blood was so sweet. He felt so thirsty.

Just a gulp, she wouldn't mind… Nora would always forgive him, she always did say she never wanted to be separated from him. He tore both their clothes off, and began molding himself to her still form.

Ren partook in the remaining blood from Nora's body, ecstasy filling his very being as he drained the remaining blood the body of his childhood friend.

Break

Glynda moaned in pleasure as the man of her dreams pleasured her to the limit, making love to her without an end in sight. She bucked and hugged her lover's form, the bed they were on making wonderful squelching noises as they performed their acts of passion.

Slick fluids clung to her body as their session become more primal. Bites and tearing became more common, and the syrupy liquid coated every inch of her and her lover.

She looked away for a moment to enjoy the bedroom she had designed for herself for this very moment. Her students witnessed their copulation, but she did not care, why would she?

Their eviscerated bodies served as excellent beds to desecrate herself upon. Their warm blood and excellent blanket to bath herself in every few moments.

Break

He felt the ebb and flow of life of his boar-like prey leaving their broken bodies and enter his form. It had taken a while, but he had finally found a source of Blood Echoes from these 'Shadow Bones' a title he had silently bestowed upon the creatures due to lack of knowledge of their native titles. They were also used to repair the scraps of his once pristine leather armor and tools. It was cheap now, probably due to the item having a memory of existing, and hence easier to repair to its former glory.

It had turned out that only the relatively strongest, oldest and largest of these 'Shadow Bones' creatures contained Blood Echoes, but it came with a great cost. These boar/wolf variants were extremely cunning, and from the memories contained within, they had lived for centuries at the very least to reach this stage of life. Many would be hunters had fallen to their far more experienced and honed skills, their own life essence collected and concentrated into a syrupy concentrate of sweetness he had rarely tasted before.

The memories were fuzzy, as they had mixed together from various sources for countless years of exposure. While it was no longer possible to extract specific sequence of events, the wealth of general knowledge in them was undisturbed. He added it to his own ever growing pool of knowledge of this world.

Apparently, the Hunters here were referred to as Huntsmen and Huntresses according to gender. There were two sapient species that 'co-existed' with each other, Humans and Faunus, the former he was more than familiar with, while the other he decided to pursuit further upon when given the chance. He was on a world named Remnant, in an unclaimed parcel of land between the borders of the Kingdom of Vale and Atlas.

These Shadow Bones were called Grimm by the local populace, and were fixated upon total Humanity and Faunus kind extinction. They had no souls, while everything else did. Their only saving grace was their uncountable hordes awaiting a chance to strike, as well as an apparently unlimited lifespan to potentially become a serious threat. The one he hunted was an Elder Grimm of the Boartusk.

The hunters of this world also had something that he became green with envy once he found out, one that none in his world did not. It was called Aura, a manifestation of a person's soul that once unlocked, would serve as an automated process that not only reduces potentially fatal attacks into simple bruises but completely negates the effective ness of slashing attacks, it also temporarily sealed up wounds during dire situations, until a more natural healing process could kick in, or the danger had passed, it basically acted as a massive parameter boost to all attributes, ranging from strength to endurance, an enviable ability apparently everyone on Remnant had the potential to attain.

When actively utilized for combat, it had a near unlimited number of applications that ranged from triggering a reaction in a substance called 'Dust', something that all Grimm were composed and refined from to igniting projectile from weapons. Almost every shred of weapons technology required Aura to activate in some form or another, from shooting a round from a rifle to pass for identification.

An extension of this was Semblance, a unique manifestation of Aura in the form of specific abilities on top of the benefits Aura already provided. Some enhanced physical attributes to extreme levels, others manipulated forces of nature at will, while an exceptionally rare few were too obscure to even identify. It was all incredibly frightening just how empowered these huntsman were.

Yet so many still fell in battle against beasts he literally decimated with single hand.

It proved that they had no idea just how to manage such a gift, one he had little doubt he would not hesitate to become blood –addled to have just for a few moments at a time.

Then there was one massive downside, however, to the Huntsmen and Huntress here as well as their phenomenal abilities. Aura depletion, once it became low enough, most of the boosted abilities and stamina disappeared, and they were left with only their skill and base parameters to make it further.

If he could learn to unlock his own Aura and Semblance… he was sure he had enough personal experience to eliminate its glaring flaws and using his Insight to eliminate the more subtle drawbacks.

It would be good to have such a useful supplementary ability bolstering his already impressive abilities, but it could wait for now. He had to find civilization first, besides so long as he did not encounter one of those massive Grimm thrice as tall than even many buildings in Yharnam, whose attention nor hide he could marr with any of his various tools, he would be fine. That was one prey he was one not yet ready to take on… not that it had noticed crushing half his leathery armored form into the ground as he attempted an escape.

As long as he avoided those 'Ancient Grimm', he should be safe for now. His armor was never made to absorb even a fraction of such crushing blows, simply deflect and avoid them entirely.

Now, to Vale or Atlas?

Break

"Dawn breaks, Djura" Her withered hands paused their tireless weaving, and she looked out the window to the approaching sun, "No matter how many times I see the sun rise… It's still so beautiful"

"I know, the contract is done. Doll has reported a sudden lift in mood of the Messengers inhabiting the Nightmare." He replied, pretending to ignore the tender part he knew he should not have heard, despite this, he too gazed at the rising sun with longing.

"It had to be done, Djura. Ozpin understood it as well, it was the only reason the school will still stands" She offered comfort to the surprisingly soft Hunter.

"I know, but I just want to pray to whatever Deity, even a Great One that the decision I made was the right one"

"Careful what you wish for, Djura. Remember the form our true enemies take" Her tone, once warm and frail, had taken a razor like edge, cold as well. "Their eternal yearning must be sated, by whatever means available"

"I know, I have not forgotten, Eileen" Djura got off his couch, opened the window and leaned out to take a breath of the morning dew. It smelled wonderful lot his nose, not even the cigar in his moth ruined the freshness. "The Great Ones will have their surrogates"

"Even if… it, will come once again?" There was a nervousness uncharacteristically present within the old Hunter.

"That is the reason we will be ready"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Dawn cracked, the morning light streaming into the office window and over a sparsely populated desk that was the Headmaster of Beacon's, now bare of any form of paper work, back log and several future ones for the next few weeks. The man himself was still wide awake, sleep being the luxury that it was due to his very extensive career. He did not need sleep to function, nor did he ever want to, unless it was a deep, deep slumber that not even dreams could reach. Caffeine did its job wonderfully to keep him wide awake until exhaustion took over, it was his source of energy, his mania from the darkness that plagued him.

Letting out an amused humm, Ozpin placed his chin on the flat of his desk, directly opposite to his trusted team mate and now secretary, Glynda Goodwitch. She was certainly beautiful, he would never deny such an obvious fact, and he knew her particular disposition toward certain people and genders, however, it was for this very reason he kept his distance from her. He could not let her get involved in the darkness- well, a darker darkness that was far deadlier than even the Grimm.

Although the binding had taken place, making the whole of Beacon Academy training grounds for Hunters, instead on Huntsmen and Huntresses. This had only given every one a crutch to lean on, and it would last up until they reached a very short distance into the darkness. Those that were able to stand would become true Hunters, while those that could not… would fall into eternal insanity into the darkness. There would be no redemption once fallen, only sweet, sweet madness…

Ozpin was determined to keep them as far away from danger as possible, no matter how much they wanted to jump into the maws of insanity unprepared for more power. It wasn't worth losing anyone to, specially a dear friend…

Suddenly, he noticed that the woman was wide awake, blood trailing down her nose and a startled expression on her usually stoic features. She glanced around the room, seemingly ignoring him completely as she swept her eye to every nook and cranny of the room for something, as if looking for a hidden detail she was knew was here, but ensuring it with her own eyes.

After almost a minute, the blonde settled down, and releasing a bated breath. However, her body still shivered, it she seemed both frightened and delighted. It was an odd combination if there ever was one to be referenced, but that wasn't important right now.

"Glynda" Ozpin's tone was calm, the same as it had always been. But there was an undercurrent of worry nicked in there somewhere. It was enough to both startle the woman before calming her down as soon as they made eye contact. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes Headmaster, I-I'm fine." The initial excuse she made was poor, and a dead give away from the obvious stutter in her tone. She took several deep breaths, the tenseness freezing into a stoic expression once more. She looked normal now, but he could tell that whatever caused such a reaction from her was still around. He knew.

Because he still had nightmares to this day. A terrible price for the equally terrible power he now wielded.

"No, you are not. Should any of the students see you in such a state, then how would they react? You are the Disciplinary Mistress of Beacon Academy, and I cannot let anyone proclaiming they are fine out of stubbornness" The Headmaster, took out a sheet of paper and handed it to his assistant, it was one of the many things he had written overnight. "Henceforth, I am issuing a whole week off training for everyone involved in the injections yesterday"

The blonde Huntress took the sheet of paper with the barest hint of surprise and quivering fingers, something that should not have even fazed her before now threatened to envelope her. It was a clue to how shaken up she was upon seeing a dark reflection of herself. "I will return once all students have been informed of this. Is there anything …else?"

"Yes, please inform everyone that there will be a new Professor moving into the Academy. He will take up a four hour period from 6pm to 10pm once a week on Fridays." The Headmaster said, after furrowing his brows slightly in concentration, as if contemplating a massive decision. "Just as a precaution though, I want you to confine the teams that seem less than… stellar, in their rooms. Should any of them protest, do send them my way. Once you are done, have a rest"

The Disciplinary Mistress nodded, although she had just awoken from an admittedly unpleasant night of sleep, she still felt incredibly weary. No need for Ozpin to concern himself with it, however, he already had his hands full with something, if the unusual intensity in his eyes were of any indication. Still, there was no need to be lazy, she would do some exercises before hitting the showers and getting a more restful nap. "As you wish, Headmaster"

Break

According to the memories of an Atlesian Huntress, the capitol city of her kingdom of birth was directly due west of his current location. It was a route that was quite easy to follow once he'd determined the angle of the sun. All he had to do was blaze west as far as he could before dawn, resulting in the utter abuse of his slithering form. In all honesty, he felt slightly bad about not being able to use such a powerful arcane technique for something as mundane as crossing large distances, when it was intended to weave past potentially fatal attacks from beasts in short bursts.

He would have to rectify such a glaring flaw… or rather add to it an additional utility to its abilities. There was no need to travel long distances in Yharnam, where prey was around almost every corner. Here, it was different, as prey was far scarcer than what he was used to.

Then there was his body, and unless it could evolve into something with far greater utility that its current form, he would have to make do. The thought wasn't appealing in the slightest-

Suddenly, he felt himself mentally grin, and he knew it would have looked absolutely maniacal from an outside perspective. He would not have blamed the person, after all it was the way he was feeling right now. A memory from Atlesian Hunter came unbidden, but not unwelcome to him, as he had pondered on his predicament. It was a rumor, one that was wild and unbelievable, and one that could potentially solve his predicament.

He took the rumor with a grain of truth, after all, they had to start from somewhere right?

Break

Jaune Arc creaked his eyes open, it was the incessant knocking from the room of his dorm, both rhythmic and incredibly grating to his aching body. Every sensation felt like it was accompanied with a texture of pain, his joints were stiff and so was every muscle in his body. They were not sore despite the aching, they instead felt like they had been released after being locked into place for the whole night, his entire body felt incredible fresh, but without all the comfort of sleep that should have accompanied the sensation.

He looked away from the blank ceiling and around his dorm room, the others seemed to be sleeping, and Ren… the boy's face seemed to contort in strange expressions as he continued to sleep. It was odd, he was usually the last member up if Nora had not already dragged Ren into out of bed to take a make pancakes. Even Phyrra looked like she would not be waking up anytime soon, despite knowing her insane morning exercise routine that would usually alert him enough to jolt him awake. It was a surreal feeling of being the first one awake that prevented him from moving.

The second surreal feeling came when the door of his dorm room opened up to reveal a rather ticked off looking Disciplinary Mistress despite knowing the room had been locked the night before. She looked terrible, despite the stoic façade she was putting up, and she looked ready to bite him if her irritated glare was anything to go by.

"Mister Arc, I see you are awake" He noticed the smallest strain in her jaw muscles as she did her best in suppressing a yawn, Jaune decided it was best to ignore that little detail. He definitely did not want to irritate the sleep-deprived beast his Combat Instructor had somehow become overnight any more than he had to. "All teams in Campus are to be given a week of leave, but cannot leave Academy grounds until the following week, which will be the official start of the Second Year for your team. Anyone with question or objections are to personally deliver them to the Headmaster himself for pending"

Jaune could only nod form his posture on the bed, the summer vacation was short, but he dared not voice a complaint. The Disciplinary Mistress nodded in satisfaction. She quietly closed the doors and walked off, JNPR's leader let out a bated breath as he realized that he was safe once the clacking of heels faded.

Now, how was he going to get out of bed with his whole body feeling like it was made of tough rubber?

Break

Yang forced herself awake, ignoring the incredible stiffness that permeated the area she just activated to sit upright. Her movement had been so forceful, she felt the bed's foundation of hard-cover books shift. Any other time she would have been worried about toppling off the bed and potentially hurting her partner underneath, but not right now.

"What… was that?"

It had been so vivid, so graphic, each action as terribly euphoric as the last. The slick feeling of a sweet liquid splashing on her skin was enough to make her aroused. It sickened her, frightening her into the sweaty mess of tangled bed sheets and disheveled hair. Her body was slick with sweat, her breathing could almost be called hyperventilation, and her heart beat was unhealthily high. Yang looked to her right hand, it still trembled as it refused to let go of the bed sheets under it, as if the limb remembered to debauchery it was commanded to perform in the terrible, terrible nightmare.

Slowly, the Brawler edged over to the side of the bed and looked underneath. She swallowed some saliva as her partner for her time in Beacon shed light tears and curled up protectively. Across, her little sister's partner was no better, although her posture was face up and proper, she let out the occasional hiccup of suppressed wailings.

However, the tightening sensation let up when she saw her precious innocent baby sister sleeping soundly, with a wistful smile and adorable sounds coming from her carefree forms. Yang let out a bated breath, she might have suffered from that… terrible nightmare, but it would have broken her heart to find the one she practically raised to be in a similarly distressing situation.

Better her than her little sister.

Deciding that she had enough of having her teammates plagued by nightmares, Yang grabbed the edged of her bed and slid her entire body over it, landing in a smooth crouch. In any other day, she would have simply let her superior body take the brunt of the force, but today she felt terribly inefficient, like her motor controls were all slightly off. Figuring that problem was of a slightly lower priority, she approached Blake's bed, reached out, and shook the cat Faunus gently.

The next thing she knew, however, was the dark beauty straddling her on the floor, her fingernails dangerously close to her jugular. Blake's eyes were slits and she let out a vicious hissing. Yang held the other girl's hands away with her superior strength, while attempting to reach through he dazed female. "Blake, stop it! It's me, Yang!"

As if a switch had been flipped, Blake seemed to calm down, looking at her near-victim with initial confusion. It was as if it was the first time she'd seen Yang. "Yang?"

"Damn, my joints…"Her voice seemed so weak and fragile, like it would shatter at the slightest gust of wind. The Brawler let go of the other girl's now lax arms. Watching them droop down lifelessly as their owner looked around in confusion. "Am I… still dreaming?"

"No, you're not. You're in the second year of Beacon Academy, my partner and my precious Kitty cat" At this confirmation, Blake's dazed state crumbled, giving way to a sniffling girl. Yang brought the Faunus closer, allowing her to sob silently into the comfort of her ample bosom. "Whatever you saw, it was just a nightmare. This is reality, you have friends here who care about you, who will protect you"

"Thanks Yang" The Cat Faunus said as she pulled away, drying the remaining salty fluids on her own nightgown, a grateful smile adorning her feline features.

"Anything for my little Kitten!" Yang replied playfully, as she hugged Blake into a crushing embrace between her more generous assets. The cat Faunus snuggled deeper instead of pushing off or leaving the playful action as it was. This caused the blond to blush a crimson hue.

"Anything right?" Blake asked mirthfully as she peeked up from her cozy impromptu pillows. She tightened her hold on the blonde. "Then let me sleep here for a bit more, alright?"

Yang laughed nervously as they both lay sprawled on the floor, embarrassed that she had trapped herself with one of her playful whims. As much as she did want for her partner to get cozy, she still had an Ice Queen to wake up. Ruby would never forgive her if she let her partner in such a debilitating state. Hence, she picked up Blake between her armpits like the animal that she was nicknamed after and stood up with the confused Faunus girl. "Yang?"

"Sorry, Kitten. Ice Queen here needs as rude awakening as you do" The Brawlers' joking words were overshadowed by the concern that flooded it. She put Blake down, and turned over to see an incredibly distressed Weiss, stiff but shivering despite the mild temperature of the room. Yang turned from the sleeping form of her team mate to her partner. "You want to do the honors, Kitten?"

Blake bit her lip before responding in a concerned tone. "How's… your neck?"

"Eh?" Yang, caught off guard by the question simply stared dumbly at her partner, before feeling her neck with her hands. Other than the morning stiffness, it was fine. Unless…

A grin made its way to the elder sister of the team's leader, before it was suppressed for later.

"Can't tell at the moment, but we have more important business at the moment" She gestured to the sleeping heiress, "You still want to wake up Sleeping beauty here?"

"No, I'm good. I'm not as sturdy as you Yang. I won't last long if Weiss suddenly attacks randomly upon waking like I did." As the Faunus said this, she made her way to the top bed, finding a snugly snoring form of Ruby Rose. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of irritation at the seemingly untroubled sleep her team leader was getting. However, that quickly melted away at the content mewling sounds the young girls made as she slept. Blake really couldn't stay angry at anyone who wasn't at fault. Especially their naïve team leader. "I'm waking Ruby, up instead"

"Fine then, I'll let you deal with her" Yang's smug smile seemed to unnerve the Faunus, but she held firm. After all, how could a drowsily adorable Ruby do anything without a morning pick-me-up? She was so adorable, all huddled into her blanket, snoozing peacefully, and ever her fuzzy tail was wagging adorably!

…Hold on, Ruby? A fuzzy tail?

Before Blake could fully process the conclusion she had been dreading from day one, the problem decided to save her the trouble and present itself to her face, literally.

"Gah! No, Zwei!" Blake flipped over from her all fours positions and backpedaled as far as she could from the fuzzy mass of love known only as Zwei. Although, she was quick due to her training and heritage, the dog was cared for by a person that barely knew the meaning of the word 'slow', hence, the inevitable result. A long, sloppy lick filled with enough love and tenderness to melt even the ice queen of RWBY, did nothing but send mixed signals to the Faunus. The tense atmosphere was briefly dispersed.

Blake knew, that Zwei was the friendliest, most lovable animal companion she had ever met. Ruby treated him like her equal, rare for even Faunus, and the others doted on him like there was no tomorrow. The fuzz ball always returned their affections tenfold, but seemed to have a knack of catching her off guard with his sudden appearance, almost urging her to make physical contact with him. The rational side of her thought Zwei was harmless. The emotional side told her Zwei was adorable and she should cuddle him.

Her instincts, however, were going haywire.

So, there she lay, helpless as the was assaulted by the most devastating of attacks that not even an Elder Grimm could match up to… slobbery face licks.

Meanwhile, Yang had little trouble waking up the admittedly stiff-looking girl a level below. All she had to do was peel the somehow immaculate bed sheet off the snow-haired girl's slender form, and her eyes simply popped open. It was quite easy, but also extremely unnerving, as Weiss simply continued to gaze towards Yang with a blank expression. She didn't even seem to care that her rather translucent night gown was right in open view.

"Uh, Weiss? Yoo-hoo? Ice Queen, anybody there?" Yang waved her hands over to the girl's face in concern, but when her eyes did nothing but remain fixed on her face, she knew that something was definitely wrong. Finally, after several minutes of patience testing, the brawler gave up. "Oh, you know what? Never mind, you're already awake, so into the hot shower you go!"

Yang unceremoniously hoisted her little sister partner and heir of the largest corporations in the world over her shoulders and walked to the bathroom. Where she then set out to strip the paralyzed girl and set up a warm bath.

Moments later, the entire dorm shook with with a surprised squeal.

"Oh, did I say Hot water? I meant, ice cold water that I hadn't heated up yet!"

"YANG!"

Break

Ozpin was idle, he had no one to make him coffee, no one to give him paperwork, and no one to send for more paper work. This was a rare event, one that seldom happened even during official holidays, in these times he would usually go out to practice his skills to ensure they did not atrophy. This was not an ordinary day, however.

Each second he stayed unoccupied, was another he had to spend thinking about the suffering he put his precious students under. He wondered, just what they were going through in order to better achieve their potential of being the best Huntsmen-no, Hunters in Remnant. What price did they have to pay? Would it be the same as his own agonizing months of pain-crippling hell?

Ozpin didn't know, but he intended to find out.

Break

The doorbell rang a simple chime that only tinkled when someone approached the door. Djura uncrossed his arms for his resting position and stood up, taking a moment to look behind him. He saw the dark-skinned woman sleeping soundly with a cozy blanket draped over herself as she rocked in her rocking chair.

Turning away, Djura effortlessly navigated the countless crates of magazines of his 'Special' bullets he had packed the night before and reached the doorway.

"Professor Djura?" It was a non-descript man with brown hair and a red uniform with the sign 'Tornado Movers' over his left breast. On his right read the man's name? Djura nodded, this must be the mover that Ozpin had told him about.

"Indeed"

"I'm with Tornado Movers, we-" Djura blocked out the rest of the man's recited introduction and waited for the more important bits, right obout…now. "-so let's see how much you've got to move"

"All the crates in the room" The dusty hunter replied. The mover looked past him and into he room, his eyes immediately widened in disbelief. His mouth hung slightly, it took a while to recompose himself.

"It seems we will need… multiple trips for this" The mover stated, before he turned a way, took out his scroll and muttered under his breath "…geez, no one ever told me this old geezer had so much junk! Better call the boss for more hands…"

Unfortunately, Djura was trained to hear soft padded steps in the dead of night as he hunted. Something muttering this close was far too easy to pick up, it was like whispering into his ear. Fortunately for the mover boy, the 'geezer' simply went back into his home and closed the door. Leaving the teen in confusion.

"My old bones need rest, you young people have more than enough energy to carry this old man's things right?" Djura said in a satisfied tone from behind the door, playing along.

Outside, the employed simply gaped like a fish out of water. He assumed the old geezer would at least push the containers out, but now he had to haul it out? Alone? The backup would not arrive for another 2 hours, and he needed to make the first delivery in one hour!

Inside, Djura smirked. The cheeky brat certainly deserved it! Old Geezer was he? Well then old geezer he would!

 **A/N: I would like to say to everyone, happy New Year! Finally got this out, and edited all the previous chapters with details you won't notice, but made me feel better. I tried and failed to write a gore scene, maybe battle gore will be a better success, until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"So… basically, we're grounded?"

The sun was high up in the sky, its mighty rays piercing through the glass windows and closed curtains to find new victims to shine on. Usually, there would be a handful that had not yet gotten up, and the celestial body seemed to enjoy tormenting their eyes with its incandescence until they arose with groggy eyes from terrible dreams. Usually, these victims would silently curse and grumble about sleeping in, before looking at the time and dashing off to class in panic. If the sun had sentience, it would be cackling with mischievous glee at the hilarious sight of the mortal creatures under it.

Today, however, went much differently than expected. Rather the usual suspects the sun would usually rise from a restful slumber (Yang, Ren, Cardin…), it found not less, but rather more than its usual handful of suspects. In fact, it seemed like the entirety of Beacon had overslept, including the majority of the staff. This of course excluded the Headmaster, who awoke before even the sun even considered to peek over the horizon, bastard.

This was not the most unusual thing, rather it was the fact that many of the students were opening their windows, curtains, doors and even blasting holes in their dorm walls just to scream their affection for daylight!

If the sun was sentient, it would have dimmed down into a black hole in incomprehension, sucking all planets for light-years away in a quick death.

Fortunately, the sun was in fact, not sentient and would not devour entire solar systems anytime soon. This now leads to one of the countless dormitory rooms that had not been totally opened, it belonged to the now infamous team RWBY.

If any man were to take a peek through the key hole, they would have seen four girls in their sleep wear- well, one of them, since the three more mature girls wore clothing that was either too sheer, to short, or too alluring to be called pajamas- and gotten a nose bleed for it.

Now, if a person of the fairer sex were to peek in, they would have gotten much farther than that and seen a hilarious scene of a short, red-headed girl holding a fluffy white dog and pouting at a much taller and buxom blonde. They would not have seen the expressions on the other two, as they would have had to run… from the tip of an exceedingly pointy rapier that somehow jammed itself through the key-hole enough to poke an eye out, Aura notwithstanding.

"Weiss, is there something wrong?" From her current posture of loosely aligned feet and bent wrist, the heiress seemed to have flicked something at the doorway, the object in question was her rapier, Myrtenaster. From the girl's current expression of surprise she either did not expect that rather impressive show of dexterity and balance, or the fact that she had thrown her personal weapon like a common throwing knife into a target literally the size of a keyhole.

"Nothing at all Blake, I just felt refreshed is all since this morning. I also sensed something very uncomfortable from the doorway." The pale girl in the sheer nightgown responded calmly, relaxing her stance as if uncaring of the weapon in the doorway. It seemed option one was more likely.

"Strange, but if it benefits us, then so be it." While Blake was usually the most conservative of the team, the rush of foreign energy in her system and a terrible night of sleep had played havoc with her senses until she could no longer begin to care anymore. At least until the euphoria of drunkenness and drowsiness wore off from her sensitive Faunus systems. Right now, she was sitting on her bed as her partner tried to explain to their adorable leader why they could not leave the school grounds at all. Blake smirked, an expression that suggested she enjoyed the interaction between the two half-sisters, as well as the fact that Zwei was as far from her as possible at the moment.

"Sis, you've got to understand that our dearest combat instructor- who might I add is also a Disciplinary Mistress and Beacon's Secretary- personally told me that that we will need to be confined- !" Yang, in her inconceivably short shorts attempted to parley with their reasonably upset leader. Reasonable, as in she had slept quite well the night before and had no dark bags hanging under her eyes like the others in her team did.

"Grounded" The flat voice interceded, which somehow made an adorable pouting face while saying so. It was not much more an interruption than it was a correction, as Ruby was still technically a child at her age, her perceptions between vague concepts that hung close to each other were not fully formed yet. Hence she clung to what she could understand at the moment.

That is, they had done something bad and needed to be grounded. Similar to situations at home, when she had been caught munching snacks past midnight and had to be banned from touching her beloved weapon for a week by her father.

To Ruby Rose, the situation was no different, except that she had no idea what she and her team did _wrong_ to earn such a punishment on a perfectly sunny day! That was the main kicker, the fact that she didn't know, and her whole team, heck, the whole school was suffering for it.

Yang scratched her head in resignation, she wasn't the best thinker of the group, which would be the heiress that seemed to be enjoying the scene of the blonde's irritated features from her own bed below Ruby. Yang sent a pleading expression to the her pale teammate, but the girl only continued to wear an amused expression on her features and mouthed _Ruby can do better than you!_

The elder sister inwardly swore, maybe she shouldn't wake woken her in such a rough manner earlier?

Nah! Her expression was totally worth it!

Now to try her own partner… who seemed to be glaring and the fluffy bundle in Ruby's arms from her bedside like it was some offending object of destruction… yeah, that was not going anywhere anytime soon. Zwei let out a bark as it peeked over the railing from Ruby's arms that melted, or at least softened, the heart of everyone in the room,

This fortunately affected Ruby to a much greater degree due to the proximity of the action. She giggled and smothered the canine in more hugs and kisses, "Aww! I can't stay in a bad mood while you're around right?"

Zwei snuggled back and barked happily at the change in mood of the room.

Ruby finished her cuddling session and looked back to her sister in a slightly flushed expression. She released the living body pillow, and let it find another set of arms to spoil himself with. Looking up to Yang's Lavender eyes, she saw her own silver one reflected on them. "I'm sorry I threw a tantrum Yang!"

The larger sister smiled in approval at her little sister's maturity to accept her mistakes and admit them. She then climbed up and hopped over to Ruby's bed, uncaring of the occupant below who heard an ominous creak from above. The heiress wisely chose to sit on the opposite bed, whom Zwei had also chosen as his cozy bed at the moment.

Weiss eagerly went to cuddle the fluffy animal in all her squealing glory, while Blake seemed torn as to where she would rather lay her rump on.

Break

Atlas, undisputedly one of the most technologically advanced kingdom in the world. It boasted the vastest military of trained soldiers both mechanical and organic, hosted as the headquarters of the infamous Schnee Dust Company, and was home to many of the current technologies that existed in the world. It would not be wrong to say that Atlas could very well tie with the other three kingdoms in a three on one war, if just barely.

That was Atlas, and according to the Special Operative Unit Huntress whose memories he was using as a reference to extract raw information from, he should be arriving very shortly to his destination. All he had to do was-

"What do you mean, you lost the sample?" A cold voice suddenly asked in disbelief and unadulterated rage. Curious, he dragged himself slowly rather than the usual leap in order to stay inconspicuous. He was near the border of some very impressive Atlesian walls, with bushes growing just out of it. He took shelter and spied the two parties from his hidden position.

"I apologize Ma'am, but there was an Elder Grimm attack. It was too powerful for us to handle" A brown-haired male with an armored pair of gauntlets said. He was facing with a woman so strikingly white, he would have mistaken her for a well-carved, marble statue if it were not for his new senses… and the fact that she was sending an icy glare at the poor male. Behind him were two more men and one female, a full team of certified Hunters? "And for some reason it was only after the cargo we had, it lost interest in us as soon as it grabbed it"

The pale lady narrowed her eyes at the man, who had now begun to sweat, his team cowering behind him. "That item was very important to me-I mean the Atlesian military! You bring great disgrace to your class as third years!"

"Um, ma'am?" The man asked just as the woman took out a scroll and began typing. She looked up from her task with thinned lips.

"What is it? And why are you wasting my time here? Go report your failure to your superior officer!" Her tone was calm, but there was an edge that would have sliced apart steel if it could be weaponized. Despite this, the male continued.

"I was just wondering what was in that package?" The surrounding students were silently tugging and warning him to just let the whole thing pass by, but he ignored them to satisfy his curiosity.

The glare she gave him mad the man pale in absolute fright.

"Classified. However, since were probably never going to see it ever again, I suppose I could tell you." Her expression softened into something unreadable, she stopped typing, placed the scroll away and turned away. "It was a preserved arm"

The four hunter's seemed to turn green. However to the woman's surprise, he managed to point to a certain location in the bushes. "L-like that?"

His location.

"!" Surprised, the woman turned to the anointed bushes that should have hidden him. How? No regular human should have noticed!

Then there was a flicker of tufts on the man's head.

Faunus ears. The man was a Faunus, and he didn't realize it!

"Now, what do we have here?" The woman's somewhat darkened mood had lifted up, and he could feel that she had indeed detected him. There was no longer any escape, he had to play along for now. It was time to act like the severed arm he looked like.

Break

Winter Schnee wasn't having the best of days. In fact, this could have been labeled as one of the worst days of her life… aside form when she had to calm down an immature Weiss. Now those were horrifying moments!

First, she had been notified that there would be delivery from a group of third-years of Atlas Academy. She had been assigned to pick up the package, and had been informed that General Ironwood had made great investments into acquiring it.

That meant she had also place great value of the package.

Although somewhat disgusted at the nature of the package, she had been notified of its significance in creating Artificial Hunters, like Penny, but far more rugged, advanced and without aesthetic appeal. The General seemed adamant in its sound delivery, and she wasn't about to disagree with him. Not like she ever did anyways.

Now however, the package had been lost! Pillaged form the escort team form an Elder Grimm, something she knew fresh faced Hunters didn't dare face even with multiple teams. She could not blame the third years, they were the best in their year, it just wasn't good enough.

However! It seemed that by some miracle, she had found an arm just laying around! It wasn't the arm Ironwood asked for that was for sure, but it was better than going back empty handed. The dismembered limb she found looked like it belonged to a rather muscular male that focused on great endurance and deft hand movements rather than a body builder. It was covered in a black leather sleeve and glove, which seemed to be holding on to a pouch of some sort. The end seemed to have been cauterized off for some reason, the leather material fused into a melted bundle that most likely required something sharp to open up.

Carefully, she picked up the dismembered limb as if it were an infant and cradled it. She noticed how the death grip did not slack on the pouch, whoever had owned the arm considered the pouch important enough to keep. However, questions teemed in her mind even as she passed by the shocked students.

Who was the original owner?

What was in the pouch?

Will the General accept the replacement?

It was the last one that truly worried the woman, for her absolute loyalty lay in the General. If he so much as stopped acknowledging her, she would not know what to do… aside from visiting her dear little sister of course!

Break

James Ironwood was not usually a happy man, he usually wore a dour expression to mask anything underneath it. Right now however, he had let out a miniscule smirk, one so small no living creature could have detected it.

"Uncle, is there a reason you are so happy"

Not unless they were machines implanted with a human personality and programmed to fit into society flawlessly. Not unless, they were programmed to read such small gestures.

Not unless it was Penny.

"Indeed" They were on their way back to Atlas, where his special project was very near completion. "We're going to meet your little brother, Penny"

The Android's features remained blank, but he could tell form the status screen shown on his scroll, that the Android was actually excited. He looked away form that and to the reports the egg heads back in the lab had sent him.

They were done, all they needed now was the main component, a perfectly preserved limb of an accomplished Hunter. At this moment his trusted subordinate Winter, should have procured the package from the group of third years. His face morphed in frustration at the measly security detail sent to fetch an item of such importance! He hoped the package was still usable…

"Sir, we have arrived" The intercom came alive for the first time in several hours to announce their proximity to his base. James looked out, and saw a disciplined formation of his soldiers to welcome him back from his trip to Vale.

The Bullhead soon landed, and the pair stepped down onto solid ground. The General lead, his 'niece' following with none of her usual cheer. In its place was an emotionless mask that betrayed nothing. She followed in steep with the General, even as he sped up the pace to Atlas's greatest breakthrough since her own existence.

"General, Welcome back! If you would be so kind as to follow me… I believe I have a pleasant surprise for you" A scientist from the group that had gathered near the end of the parade said as he stepped forward. She recognized him as the person who performed monthly maintenance on her when she had just been born.

"Oh? In a good mood as well are we?" The two shared a brief handshake that was crisp and precise. Standard Atlas protocol.

"Of course! This is the day we've all been waiting for since 'Penny'! Well, except that Schnee subordinate of yours, she seemed a tad bit nervous for some reason…"

The General frowned, but he nodded to the scientist, who now began walking away. Everyone else began walking away, the event now finished.

They entered a reinforced bunler and passed through many reinforced doorways, scanners, and all manner of security measures. This was the lab where she was created, where Atlas's darkest secrets lay…

She was simply successful enough to not cause any trouble. Many other inventions did not.

Finally they passed through the last of the security measures and the largest metal door slid open, just wide enough for everyone to slip in. It closed in a resounding thud that echoed through the room they had entered.

This was the heart of Atlas's Research and Development. This was where Penny was born.

This was where she will meet her little brother.

Break

Deep within the bowels of the lab, General Ironwood gazed at not one, but three figures cloaked before him, hiding any displeasing features under it. One of then had its chest opened, expecting the specimen. He turned his attention to the scientist, who began to explain his little surprise.

"Well you see General, besides Project HUNTER, we've also been working on Project TRANSIT. Amazingly we have managed to seamlessly combine the two projects, linking the other two the main body. This cut's the costs of needing two more samples for the sentience module."

"Efficient as always, Doctor."

"Glad to be of service, General"

"Now then, Winter, please step forth" The General ordered even as he turned to face his unusually nervous subordinate. "Please place the specimen into the tube"

There was a slight hesitation, and Ironwood directed a slightly harsh glare to his pale subordinate, silencing anything she could have said about the wrapped bundle in her arms.

Slowly, Winter approached the middle figure and gently slid the specified specimen town the tube of the figure. There was a slippery and wet sound after a moment, as if there had been liquid inside of it. She slowly stepped back as the opening closed over and locked into place, never to open again.

"Activation Project Hunter now, systems now online. Transit functions are online, beginning synchronization." First, there was a soft blue glow from underneath the cloak in the middle, once which intensified, the other two began to glow the same color. Everything seemed to be going fine. "All systems are green, beginning complete activation now"

That was when things started to go downhill.

The gentle blue lights began to shift, changing from sky-blue to blood-crimson. The middle figure rose from its rest and Winter realized that it was seven feet high, head a shoulders above her. Due to the Transit system, the two other figures also rose at the same time. They immediately moved to cover Winter's escape route, blocking her from the sight of the General.

Abruptly, the one in front of her grabbed her arm. She closed her eyes, knowing that she could not damage the one thing Ironwood was so devout towards, she waited for the pain.

But it never did.

Opening her eyes, she saw that she was now in a familiar position. She was being gently cradled like an infant. To her left, she saw the cloaked Artificial Hunter begin to walk toward the personnel, while the other one headed towards Penny.

Break

"I ask of you, are you my elder sister?"

"I ask of you, are you my father?"

These questions were posed to Penny and Ironwood respectively. While James remained silent in his confirmation, Penny was much more exuberant in her neck hug.

"Doctor, is there some sort of error? I do not mind Project Hunter gaining sentience so soon as it saves us time and resources, but did you have to imprint me as the father?"

"Sir, you must understand that is indeed an error-" The Doctor was cut off as the cloaked figure currently having Penny hanging off it gave a disturbing crimson glare to the Doctor. The statement was clear. _Shut up or die._

"Well in any case please equip them with our best gear available! I'll show all of Remnant how Atlas has begun to push the Grimm back with military might and technology, not children!" There was a blazing passion that lit up the General's expression for a moment. In the next, it was gone. "They will be participating in the Vytal tournament with Penny in the coming weeks after the start of the school semester. I expect them to be fully prepared by then, Am. I. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The doctor clumsily saluted, his wimpy side showing in front of a man that had known much trial and hardship. He was too scared to voice opposition at all. The remaining staff followed, Winter sometime between the conversation, had been allowed free and was now shadowing James.

Three figures left the room, and three ominously glowing visors tracked them.

 **A/N: Whew, that was one! Now we're in Atlas, I noticed that not many people use this setting despite the wealth of potential hidden here! Anyways. I will explain to you all what just happened. Our OC of this story, who was initially a helpless slug, is now all but piloting the best artificial body available to him at the moment, three of them! This may look like an OP jump, I can assure you that It IS! For reasons. Now these three will be using Bloodborne weaponry, except RWBY-ized. You may cast your vote on what set of weapons (2 melee, 2 ranged) each one will have. Please give reasons. You may include the DLC weapons as well.**

 **Later!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Doctor, what am I looking at here?" General Ironwood stood with a group of scientists and a small security detail on the edge of balcony that faced a rather large chamber. Within that chamber were the three new Artificial Hunter, they had been demystified several days ago, once the Penny had simply torn off the covers in her excitement by 'accident'.

Recently, he had learned the reason why his direct subordinate, Winter Schnee had been acting so uncharacteristically anxious during what should have been an honored event. She had immediately gone into his office and admitted that the original specimen he had specified to be within machines had been lost during the delivery.

At first, he had been internally furious enough to deliver corporeal punishment to her for the remaining hours of the day. However, she had then presented to him a very odd pouch, its internal dimensions seemingly distorted as he gazed upon it. The little discovery had not completely redeemed her, but it was enough to tone down her punishment to something akin to a live target for the current exhibition.

It was a form of cruel and unusual punishment, something that should have brought down the wrath of the current president of Schnee Dust Industries. Using his daughter in such demeaning way. It should have destroyed Ironwood's career.

The CEO was currently sitting on a plush chair stylized into a gilded throne, and sipping on a glass of wine while staring intently on what, might be the last time he saw his eldest daughter, with slight interest.

Initially, the man had come upon hearing the strange and somewhat humiliating punishment she had been given, but upon having been informed on the newest breakthrough in technology as well as the strange trinkets within the pouch, his cold demeanor warmed in interest. Anything that could improve his position in Atlas would do that.

"Well, General Ironwood and Mister President, over there we have an array of weaponry reverse engineered from the strange pouch you gave us. It seems to be a dimensional pocket containing various archaic lever-operated fire arms and 'trick-weapons' of various sizes. Truly, whoever designed these tools were simply brilliant in their simplistic, but had ingenious engineering tactics." The Doctor seemed enthralled with the specifics of the reverse engineered weapons as he pointed to said wepons laying scattered on the testing grounds, but the Schnee President cut him off with a lazy gesture of a raised finger.

"You speak of concepts I have no care for, good Doctor. Explain to me _why_ I should be interested?" His tone was smooth and calm, but there was an undercurrent of irritation in it.

"W-well Mister President… despite the advanced engineering, the materials they used were subpar to ours. Wood, Iron, and rarely, some unknown alloy of iron. Despite its inferior base materials, it outperforms many of our more advanced weapons, dust enhanced or not." The head researcher pulled his collar to let out some built up heat under hit bulky form, from the powerful man's cool gaze. "My team has managed to copy and reverse engineer the designs using our more durable materials and technology. We expect great results!"

"I see, I too look forward how my _eldest_ _daughter_ fares." He took a sip from a glass of wine, both the container and contents costing more than Ironwood himself could make in a year. "Now begin."

"Of course Mister President"

Break

He looked down. Three sets of 'eyes' examining the objects on front of him. He examined the weapons in front of him. The middle had the Bloodletter, Rakuyo, Church Cannon and Piercing Rifle. The left had Beast Cutter, Whirligig Saw, Gatling Gun and Fist of Gratia. The right had the Holy Moonlight Sword, Amygdalan Arm, Rosmarinus, and Loch Shield. All of them had been either completely rebuilt using the superior dust enhanced materials of this era, augmented, or untouched due to its alien nature. Untouched was the Holy Moonlight Sword. Augmented with dust-enhanced alloys, was the Loch Shield and Amygdalan Arm, the former had been found to be completely unaffected my any form of semblance or Aura-based weapons, but was quick to crack under any pure physical force applied to it, so it had been reinforced with dust enhanced metal that was specially resistant to physical strain and stress; the latter was simply alien, and had simply think metal smelted on its rigid parts, while its more flexible (and living) part was simply left alone.

The lab assistants learned it the hard way, when one of them was messily bifurcated in an attempt to tamper with it.

Then there were the reconstructed weapons, they generally had the same structures, but with sleeker forms, clearly defined geometrical edges and polished surfaces. Nothing like the jagged and brutal forms of injury they were made to inflict upon beasts.

He looked towards his new body, or rather, bodies. Three bodies, it had been difficult coordinating three bodies at once, but once again, he had peered into his Insight, and it had given him the revelations he needed to operate them more than simply walking and kneeling in differing directions. Now it was so natural viewing the same scenes form differing angles. It gave him at terrific perception of all his surroundings in great detail. It allowed him to triangulate his target, whether by smell, sound, vibration, or sight. A little practice never hurt, however.

When he first 'awoke', the scientists had attempted to remotely shut his new body down due to the initial 'error'. He denied them, but they tried to manually shut him down.

He applied intense pressure to their lower bodies in retaliation, passing it off as a self-defence 'Protocol'.

At that time, his new body was a simple skeletal net of metal wiring and unknown devices humming in synchronized harmony. He had no 'skin' to cover himself with, but that did not hinder his movements, nor his strength.

Now, his bodies had been covered in thin interlocking plates of metallic 'skin'. Over that was his Hunter Set, remade using dust alloyed threads woven together into the same conspicuous attire that disguised his metallic skin. The feat of making clothing with the consistency of protective metal was something he could certainly praise!

However, much to his annoyance, the scientists had added thick slabs of protective metal that covered everything except his lower torso, head, hands and shoulders. The worst part was that they were unnecessarily bulky and heavy, his newfound strength may have allowed him to easily move, but his flexibility suffered greatly for it. Again, much to has annoyance, he knew he knew had to act the self-aware, but enslaved creation he was. He needed information.

Information always came from lips loosed with trust or alcohol, in places of comfort or safety.

Hence, he would bear with the somewhat minor discomforts of losing much of his agility.

Like using the somewhat innocent woman with an apple balance on top of her head in front of him as target practice. It felt wrong, to accidently kill an innocent, unafflicted, clean human due to a weapon malfunction. He would have to ensure each weapon was working as intended according to the 'Protocol' System within the body. It did after all, allow maiming, but not the killing of humans. 'Protocol' dictated that he ensured the weapons worked well enough to not accidently kill the human.

Activating the 'Calibration' subroutine, the three bodies began examining each weapon by disassembling it, tweaking parts, assembling it and testing it on anywhere other than the apple on the woman. If it found a slight error, the process was done again, each time faster than the last, until…

Bang!

Break

The President of Schnee Dust Industries raise a single eye brow in interest, amused at the actions the Artificial Hunter was performing. Rather than robotically take up the assigned weapons and use them on the designated targets, it was aiming at other areas while finding any errors in the weapons by disassembling them and modifying it from the inside. To his left, he saw that the lead Doctor was examining the scene with great interest as well, while James had that silent air approval when he turned to peek at the Schnee CEO's expression.

The General always did like his tight Protocols.

He turned back, just in time to see middle machine take aim at his daughter's head and fire away.

Bang!

Break

The resounding shockwave from the weapon as it fired was unreal. Compared to the small 'test firing' it did just moments before, this was like a pistol turning into a tank shell!

Fortunately, Winter was smart enough to know that she could use her semblance to protect herself should her life be in any form of danger during the punishment. Using her abilities several dozen layered glyphs immediately popped into existence to shield her from imminent danger.

As the name implied, the round from the Piercing Rifle shattered two thirds of the glyphs, lost some energy as it passed through the remaining ones, and obliterated the apple into an apple scented mist. Just above her head was a clean hole of the same size. Leaving Winter's hands half raised, half lowered from the shock.

The weapons testing continued for a while longer, each ranged weapon just as or more devastating than the last. Each one obliterated the apple above Winter's head as well as the wall behind her without so much as messing up her current hairstyle. The Melee weapons were sharp, brutal and precise. Each one could quickly alternate between two forms to perform devastating combinations on the unlucky scrapped robots designated for destruction.

Several questions passed as to how the machines could use such strange and brutal weapons so effectively despite being the first time it had ever held them. Of course, the Doctor claimed that to credit his own programming.

"Ha! This is the power of our newest AI! Atlas's finest creation that can easily adapt to any combat situation, despite lacking any previous experience." To Head of Schnee Industries, this soothed his ego, as Atlas literally belonged to him. To Ironwood, he heard the sound of ego's being inflated beyond its capacity.

Down below the General internally winced as one of the more brutal Melee weapons effortlessly smashed a retired Spider robot in half with sheer blunt force alone, before it was bifurcated into four more pieces by the unbelievably sharp 'multi limbed arm' that shot out and finished the job. He shivered at the alien weapon, it seemed something out of a terrible nightmare, having outright killed one of his men during the tampering process.

Yet, James also smirked. He now had something that would bring peace to Remnant, something to unite the people, both human and Faunus, against their true enemies.

The Grimm.

Break

Winter Schnee elegantly strode to her room. She unlocked the door, opened it, entered it, closed it, and locked it. She took one deep breath to fill her lungs to capacity, before releasing the air in a long, single exhale.

Her body collapsed on the bed before she could even reach all the way over to it, this resulted in an inappropriate position of her rump hanging off the bedside, while the rest of her body lay belly-down on her first class mattress. However, she was far too mentally exhausted to even care at the moment. Groaning in pent up stress and exhaustion, she let everything out and rolled over to have a better position to breathe in.

The day had been incredibly stressful, not just because she nearly had her head blown off multiple times by a weapon easily capable of destroying the nigh-indestructible walls behind her, but because her father came.

"Bastard…"

Memories welled up at the image she associated to her 'father', not a single one of them remotely fatherly at all. If anything, he was more of a sperm donor to the mother Weiss never knew about. She had to take care of Weiss, raise her as mother would have.

"Mother…"

A pleasant sensation floated through her body at the hazy image. It was blurred through time and hardship, but it felt so warm and comforting.

Yet, she was gone. Mere weeks after giving birth to Weiss. Her 'father' not caring in the slightest about her disappearance and forcing the responsibility of raising an infant to a child barely into her teen years. Winter never hated her mother though, Weiss was her only memory of that wonderful woman.

Moments later, Winter Schnee fell asleep, she would wake up the next day smelly and sore.

Break

The next morning, Winter found herself babysitting Penny and her three 'little' brothers within a blank room, in a single corner was a solid steel chair and nightstand with a single book upon it. If it were not for the fact that the book in question was one of her more favored themes, she might have even considered excusing herself from the task the General had personally assigned to her. Despite the loyalty she often found herself showing the General, she was still a Schnee, and she had to uphold that image, for her little sister if nothing else.

"There catch!"

Penny's energetic shouts and irregular movements of throwing an unidentified object into the blank sky were responded by a series of stumbling crashes. In a disorganized heap lay three of Atlas' latest creations, they were stripped of their arms and armor, leaving bare circuitry and external supporting structures exposed to open air. Despite the exposure however, their fall did not result in what should be terrible tang lings of circuitry. The micro circuity were compacted and taught to maximize special efficiency and protect from stray attacks, its external cage designed to with a large space in between to buffer attacks. Without such cages, they had very slight frames of reaching up to 170cm in height. It was scary to think just how cumbersome their full armament was that it required them to expand over half again their current size and ten times their current weight.

Now it looked like teaching a dog to fetch.

Winter gazed upon the three stumbling technologies of what was to be Atlas's pride and joy besides Penny with a hint of disbelief. It was almost ridiculous to think that these three were the same being able to scare her into exhaustion just the day before as well as wreck the testing grounds to an unheard degree. Right now, they really seemed more like little children who had not learned how to run and keep balanced at the same time yet. A large difference from yesterday, where only short distances were required.

Penny's own enthusiastic attitude in volunteering the accommodation of her three little brothers into society caused a collective sigh of relief, as well as worry to both her 'Father' and Uncle Ironwood. True it would take a load off their shoulders with so many events demanding the attention of the somewhat limited number of high ranking personnel in Atlas. However, there begged the question as to how the socially awkward android 'learned' to fit so well into society in the first place.

"Friend Ruby, she taught me everything I know in socializing and making friends!"

The provided answer didn't really put much confidence in the staff, especially when the General found out that Friend ruby was actually Ruby Rose a 14-year old girl on her first year into Beacon as a prodigy and a almost as bad as Penny was in socializing. The only positive point about the whole thing was the sheer confidence in instilled into the self-aware android, to the point of zeal.

It was then decided that Winter was to Supervise the entire process, due to her ongoing punishment as well as the fact that her unofficial position near the General was easily 'replaced' by another Specialist.

Now she sat here, entertained by her limited volume of books and Penny's attempts to get her Brother's used to their bodies.

"Oh, Its coming back! Ko, Fo, Ban! Catch it!"

At her signal, the three eventually became disentangled from each other and reached for the incoming object. One of them fell to one of its knees, the other climbed over that one, who then tossed their comrade into the air. Winter watched in wonder as the three synchronously worked together to attain the previously thrown object. She took a closer look at the object.

It was one of Penny's swords.

The Schnee decided not to think on how the new androids managed to catch with their bare hands, a blade designed to easily bisect seven meters of solid steel. She opened her novel with one hand, and took a sip from the hand unoccupied. It was slightly too crazy to ponder about, so she decided it would be better to see the results later. So long as nothing blew up, she would be fine.

Now…perhaps some cakes to go with her tea would definitely hit the spot.

Break

"Weiss is what?"

It was the next day, where Winter would meet and discuss some very crucial detail with an important member of SDC family in her best behavior to negotiate Dust prices for the Atlas Military.

The scream of utter outrage and surprise would genially provoke a sense of sock towards it source, it would be especially so is it came from someone as cool headed and respected as a Schnee heiress. Heads turned towards the especially specially designated room where the CEO of Schnee Dust Company had taken residence in for the duration of his visit. Within, Winter had chosen to appear in an equally formal, yet less militaristic dress, one that seemed more appropriate for a wedding than a simple meeting, with its absurdly frilly design and long hem. She sat on plush sofa, surrounded by pillows, the table in front if her supporting the weight of a pot of exquisite tea and pair of tea cups. Further up was the person she was had just recently shouted at.

Her father, CEO of the SDC.

He sat in near silence once he had delivers what he needed to. The gilded throne of cushions that served as his seat the day before in the testing arena somehow managing to find its way to this much smaller room. His stoic visage complimenting the silver hair and inordinately expensive wine glass in his hands. The man was in his ever present suit, immaculately prepared every hour to preserve its amazing quality an expected of a Schnee.

"Winter, I do not like repeating myself. If you seek confirmation, then check your scroll for details." Without breaking stride, he soon took a sip of his wine and watched as his eldest hastily took out her scroll. A small frown took to his lips a she drank the cup hiding the disapproval of Winter's failure to uphold the bearings of a true Schnee, it was unacceptable even in private!

"Married…. Weiss?" Winter could barely keep herself composed now. Her Scroll lay in front of her, the details shown as promised. It was an event detailing a certain ceremony, to an extremely rich and influential man in Mistral. His name was irrelevant to her, since his age was almost double her own, and she knew she was at least a decade older than Weiss. She forced herself keep composed as she set the scroll down, she knew that from her first outburst, she had been on the losing side in any potential argument she could have made. Keeping impeccably mannered would only stop her from slipping further away. "If I may, this suitor is near the age of sterility. Father, you cannot possibly be serious."

"Winter, have I ever made a joking remark? To you? Your mother, to anyone?" The question was more a rhetorical statement than anything else, as the CEO refused to be anything other than his frigid, stoic self in anything but sleep. His eyes bored into his elder daughter's precarious position "Perhaps an explanation is in order, your first reaction deserves that much at least"

Winter watched as her father placed his favored wine glass on the table and stood to his full height. His hands placed behind as he walked around the room. She remained silent, awaiting. "Weiss is useful only to carry the next generation of Schnee's. Winter, you were born with all the talent, the beauty, the intellect. Your 'sister' had whatever was left, pretty enough to catch a few eyes, but that is all. The only reason I allowed to roam free until now and gave her the title of heiress was for the sake of her womb."

The way he almost spat out Weiss's name and impassively described his reasons for her freedom was Winter sick on the inside. Outwardly, her fair face paled at how objectifying he was making her sister sound, like a tool to be used and then disposed of just a s quickly.

"You leave in several months for the Vytal Festival, correct? Then pass the news to that useless daughter of mine. She will come back after the festival, or I will come there myself and destroy everything that chains her from her duties."

It was a serious and harsh warning. Winter kept herself from lowering herself further in her father's eyes, silently gripping the seats of her armrest without ah hard as she allowed herself to in cold fury. Her father, now finished with his speech took a settled down opposite to her.

"Now there is the matter of…"

As Winter listened half-heartedly to the SDC CEO's ramblings, her mind began to wander in frustration. Her little sister, the slightly bratty, clingy, overly protective little sister who she saw as the last remnants of their mother was going to be shipped off to marry some old man who could not possibly even thrust by himself before having cramps, was going to defile her baby sister?

An idea began to take root in her mind.

In the inner sanctum that was her mind, Winter began cackling madly.

 **A/N: Okay I admit, I really suck at gory scenes. Since it is a vital theme to Bloodborne, do you think I should imply the graphic scenes, or outright pull the description by the bowels and splatter it out for you? Also, I have taken into consideration your wonderful advice and tested out the pure Blood/Arcane/Physical builds. The end seems a bit cruel, since it really objectifies Weiss even more that Phyrra currently is. Don't worry though, this is all concurrent, so we will be developing some kick ass scenes with Aura enhanced BB Hunters. Can you imagine how much damage you would be dealing to enemies if your Saw cleaver was Dust enhanced? Anyways, to those shippers, yes you will get it.**

 **Whiterose.**

 **Bumblebee.**

 **Arkos.**

 **Renora.**

 **Any other ships you want? Like WeissX RubyX Winter? If there are not enough suggestions I will go with my own convoluted pairings or triangle or Yuri harem or something crazy.**


End file.
